palaver. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

palaver

SYLLABICATION:	pa·lav·er
PRONUNCIATION:	p-lvr, -lävr
NOUN:	1a. Idle chatter. b. Talk intended to charm or beguile. 2. Obsolete A parley between European explorers and representatives of local populations, especially in Africa.
VERB:	Inflected forms: pa·lav·ered, pa·lav·er·ing, pa·lav·ers
TRANSITIVE VERB:	To flatter or cajole.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:	To chatter idly.
ETYMOLOGY:	Portuguese palavra, speech, alteration of Late Latin parabola, speech, parable. See parable.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.