During the 18th century, Portuguese and English sailors often met during trading trips along the West African coast. This contact prompted the English to borrow the Portuguese palavra, which usually means "speech" or "word" but was used by Portuguese traders with the specific meaning "discussions with natives." The Portuguese word traces back to the Late Latin parabola, a noun meaning "speech" or "parable."
Noun Enough of this palaver. We have a lot to discuss. seemingly endless palaver between the negotiating parties Verb mothers palavering and drinking coffee while watching their children play I let the salesclerk at the electronics store palaver me into a service contract that I didn't need.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The Brooks Brothers Riot, as the event would be called—on account of the shirts and blazers worn by many in the angry crowd—briefly became the subject of high-minded Washington palaver. Benjamin Wofford, Wired, 10 Mar. 2022 And up from under the palaver there is golden food. John Ashbery, The New York Review of Books, 13 May 2021 And up from under the palaver there is golden food. John Ashbery, The New York Review of Books, 13 May 2021 And up from under the palaver there is golden food. John Ashbery, The New York Review of Books, 13 May 2021 And up from under the palaver there is golden food. John Ashbery, The New York Review of Books, 13 May 2021 And up from under the palaver there is golden food. John Ashbery, The New York Review of Books, 13 May 2021 The more the industry tries to make electric cars achieve ICE-type high-speed cruising levels and long-range, the more electric CO2 advantages are diluted with ever bigger batteries and the polluting palaver notched up along the way. Neil Winton, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2021 Perhaps one upside of the palaver is that Radnor residents have become more politically engaged.New York Times, 30 June 2021
Verb
On the one hand, Hrabal’s palavering bears a direct relation to reality. Becca Rothfeld, The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2019 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Portuguese palavra word, speech, from Late Latin parabola parable, speech