Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PAR'LEY, n.

Mutual discourse or conversation; discussion; but appropriately, a conference with an enemy is war. We yield on parley, but are storm'd in vain. – Dryden. To beat a parley, in military language, to beat a drum or sound a trumpet, as a signal for holding a conference with the enemy.

PAR'LEY, v.i. [Fr. parler, It. parlare, Sp. parlar, W. parliaw, to speak; Ir. bearla, language, from bearadh or beirim, to speak, to tell, relate, narrate, to bear, to carry; Goth. bairan, Sax. bæran, to bear, L. fero, or pario. So we have report, from L. porto.]

In a general sense, to speak with another; to discourse; but appropriately, to confer with on some point of mutual concern; to discuss orally; hence, to confer with an enemy to treat with by words; as on an exchange of prisoners, or a cessation of arms, or the subject of peace. – Knolles. Broome.

PAR'LIA-MENT, n. [Fr. parlement; Sp. It. and Port. parlamento; Arm. parlamand; composed of Fr. parler, Sp. parlar, to speak, and the termination ment, as in complement, &c. noting state. See Parley.]

1. Literally, a speaking, conference, mutual discourse consultation; hence,
2. In Great Britain, the grand assembly of the three estates the lords spiritual, lords temporal, and the commons; the general council of the nation constituting the legislature summoned by the king's authority to consult on the affairs of the nation, and to enact and repeal laws. Primarily, the king may be considered as a constituent branch of parliament; but the word is generally used to denote the three estates above named, consisting of two distinct branches, the house of lords and house of commons. The word parliament was introduced into England under the Norman kings. The supreme council of the nation was called under the Saxon kings, wittenagemote, the meeting of wise men or sages.
3. The supreme council of Sweden, consisting of four estates; the nobility and representatives of the gentry; the clergy, one of which body is elected from every rural deanery of ten parishes; the burghers, elected by the magistrates and council of every corporation; and the peasants, elected by persons of their own order.
4. In France, before the Revolution, a council or court consisting of certain noblemen.

PAR-LIA-MENT-A'RI-AN, a.

Serving the parliament in opposition to King Charles I. – Wood.

PAR-LIA-MENT-A'RI-AN, or PAR-LIA-MENT-EER, n.

One of those who adhered to the parliament in the time of Charles I. – Aubrey.

PAR-LIA-MENT'A-RY, a.

1. Pertaining to parliament; as parliamentary authority.
2. Enacted or done by parliament; as, a parliamentary act.
3. According to the rules and usages of parliament, or to the rules and customs of legislative bodies.

PAR'LOR, n. [Fr. parloir; It. and Sp. parlatorio; W. par lawr; from Fr. parler, Sp. parlar, to speak.]

Primarily, the apartment in a nunnery where the nuns are permitted to meet and converse with each other; hence with us, the room in a house which the family usually occupy when they have no company, as distinguished from a drawing-room intended for the reception of company, or from a dining-room, when a distinct apartment is allotted for that purpose. In most houses, the parlor is also the dining-room.

PAR'LOUS, a. [from Fr. parler, to speak.]

Keen; sprightly; waggish. [Not used.] – Dryden.

PARMESAN-CHEESE, n.

Parmesan cheese, is that made at Parina, in Italy.

PA-RO'CHI-AL, a. [from L. parochia.]

Belonging to a parish; as, parochial clergy; parochial duties. – Atterbury.

PA-RO-CHI-AL'I-TY, n.

The state of being parochial. – Mariot.

PA-RO'CHI-AL-LY, adv.

In a parish; by a parish.

PA-RO'CHI-AN, a.

Pertaining to a parish. – Bacon.

PA-RO'CHI-AN, n. [supra.]

A parishioner. – Burghley.

PA-ROD'IC, or PA-ROD'IC-AL, a. [See Parody.]

Copying after the manner of parody. – Warton.

PAR'O-DIST, n.

One who writes a parody. – Coleridge.

PAR'O-DIST, n.

One who writes a parody. Ed. Rev. [1841 Addenda only.]

PAR'O-DY, n. [Fr. parodie; Gr. παρῳδια; παρα and ῳδη, ode.]

1. A kind of writing in which the words of an author or his thoughts are, by some slight alterations, adapted to a different purpose; a kind of poetical pleasantry, in which verses, written on one subject, are altered and applied to another by way of burlesque. – Johnson. Encyc.
2. A popular maxim, adage or proverb. – Encyc.

PAR'O-DY, v.t.

To alter, as verses or words, and apply to a purpose different from that of the original. I have translated, or rather parodied a poem of Horace. – Pope.

PA-ROL', or PA-ROLE', a.

Given by word of mouth; oral; not written; as, parol evidence. – Blackstone. [It would be well to write this word parole, in uniformity a with the following, there being no good reason for a distinction.]

PA-ROL', or PA-ROLE', n. [W. paryl; It. parola; Fr. parole, from parler, to speak; or contracted from L. parabola.]

1. Properly, a word; hence, in a legal sense, words or oral declaration; word of mouth. Formerly, conveyances were made by parol or word of mouth only. – Blackstone.
2. Pleadings in a suit; as anciently all pleadings were viva voce or ore tenus. The parol may demur. – Blackstone.

PA-ROLE', n. [See Parol.]

1. Word of mouth. In military affairs, a promise given by a prisoner of war, when he has leave to depart from custody, that he will return at the time appointed, unless discharged. A parole is properly a verbal or unwritten promise, but I believe it is customary to take a promise in writing.
2. A word given out every day in orders by a commanding officer, in camp or garrison, by which friends may be distinguished from enemies. – Encyc.

PAR-O-NO-MA'SIA, or PAR-O-NOM'A-SY, n. [from Gr. παρανομεω, to transgress law or rule.]

1. A rhetorical figure, by which words nearly alike in sound, but of different meanings, respect each other in the same, sentence, or are affectedly used; as, “a friend in need is a friend indeed.”
2. A play upon words; a pun. [See Pun.] – Encyc.

PAR-O-NO-MAS'TIC, or PAR-O-NO-MAS'TIC-AL, a.

Pertaining. to paronomasy; consisting in a play upon words. – More.

PAR-O-NYCH'I-A, n. [Gr. παρωνυχια; παρα, by, and ονυξ, the nail.]

In surgery, a whitlow or felon. – Encyc.