palaver

English

WOTD – 13 October 2009    

Etymology

Originally nautical slang, from Portuguese palavra (“word”), from Late Latin parabola (“parable, speech”)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /pəˈlɑː.və(ɹ)/, X-SAMPA: /p@"lA:.v@(r)/
• Rhymes: -ɑːvə(r)

Noun

palaver (plural palavers)

1. (Africa) A village council meeting.
   • 1799, Mungo Park, Travels in the Interior of Africa^[1]:

     Here we remained four days, on account of a palaver which was held on the following occasion.

2. Talk, especially unnecessary talk, fuss.
   • 1899, Stephen Crane, Active Service:

     Knowing full well the right time and the wrong time for a palaver of regret and disavowal, this battalion struggled in the desperation of despair.

   • 1985, Justin Richards, Option Lock, p 229:

     Not for the first time, he reflected that it was not so much the speeches that strained the nerves as the palaver that went with them.

3. A meeting at which there is much talk; a debate.
   • Carlyle

     This epoch of parliaments and eloquent palavers.

4. (informal) Disagreement

   I have no palaver with him.

Translations

unnecessary talk, fuss

• Danish: palaver (da) c
• Finnish: pulina (fi)
• French: palabres (fr) f pl
• German: Palaver (de) n

• Hungarian: paláver (hu)
• Italian: fam. storie (it) f
• Russian: пустая болтовня (ru) (pustaja boltovnja), праздная болтовня (ru) (prazdnaja boltovnja)

a meeting at which there is much talk

• Danish: palaver (da) c
• Finnish: palaveri (fi)
• French: palabre (fr)

• German: Palaver (de)
• Russian: долгие переговоры

Verb

palaver (third-person singular simple present palavers, present participle palavering, simple past and past participle palavered)

1. To discuss with much talk.
   • 1860, Atlantic Monthly, vol. 5, no. 30 (April),

     “That,” he rejoined, “is a way we Americans have. We cannot stop to palaver. What would become of our manifest destiny?”

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:chatter

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Danish

Etymology

From English palaver.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /palavɘr/, [pʰaˈlɒwˀɐ], [pʰaˈlæˀwɐ]

Noun

palaver c (singular definite palaveren, plural indefinite palavere)

1. palaver

Inflection

    Inflection of palaver

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative, dative and accusative	palaver	palaveren	palavere	palaverne
genitive	palavers	palaverens	palaveres	palavernes