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par·ley 
Audio Help [pahr-lee] Pronunciation Key noun, plural -leys, verb, -leyed, -ley·ing.
—Related forms
Audio Help [pahr-lee] Pronunciation Key noun, plural -leys, verb, -leyed, -ley·ing. –noun
–verb (used without object)
| 1. | a discussion or conference. |
| 2. | an informal conference between enemies under a truce, esp. to discuss terms, conditions of surrender, etc. |
| 3. | to hold an informal conference with an enemy under a truce, as between active hostilities. |
| 4. | to speak, talk, or confer. |
—Related forms
par·ley·er, noun
—Synonyms 1. talk, conversation. 4. discuss, converse.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
parley
To learn more about parley visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
| par·ley
Audio Help (pär'lē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. par·leys A discussion or conference, especially one between enemies over terms of truce or other matters. intr.v. par·leyed, par·ley·ing, par·leys To have a discussion, especially with an enemy. [Middle English, from Old French parlee, from feminine past participle of parler, to talk, from Vulgar Latin *paraulāre, from Late Latin parabolāre, from parabola, discourse; see parable.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
parley (n.)
"conference," especially with an enemy, 1449, from M.Fr. parlée, from fem. pp. of O.Fr. parler "to speak," from L.L. parabolare "to speak (in parables)," from parabola "speech, discourse," from L. parabola "comparison" (see parable). The verb is 14c., probably a separate borrowing of O.Fr. parler.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| parley | |
noun | |
| 1. | a negotiation between enemies |
verb | |
| 1. | discuss, as between enemies |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
Parley
Beat\, v. t. [imp. Beat; p. p. Beat, Beaten; p. pr. & vb. n. Beating.] [OE. beaten, beten, AS. be['a]tan; akin to Icel. bauta, OHG. b?zan. Cf. 1st Butt, Button.]1. To strike repeatedly; to lay repeated blows upon; as, to beat one's breast; to beat iron so as to shape it; to beat grain, in order to force out the seeds; to beat eggs and sugar; to beat a drum. Thou shalt beat some of it [spices] very small. --Ex. xxx. 36. They did beat the gold into thin plates. --Ex. xxxix. 3. 2. To punish by blows; to thrash. 3. To scour or range over in hunting, accompanied with the noise made by striking bushes, etc., for the purpose of rousing game. To beat the woods, and rouse the bounding prey. --Prior. 4. To dash against, or strike, as with water or wind. A frozen continent . . . beat with perpetual storms. --Milton. 5. To tread, as a path. Pass awful gulfs, and beat my painful way. --Blackmore. 6. To overcome in a battle, contest, strife, race, game, etc.; to vanquish or conquer; to surpass. He beat them in a bloody battle. --Prescott. For loveliness, it would be hard to beat that. --M. Arnold. 7. To cheat; to chouse; to swindle; to defraud; -- often with out. [Colloq.] 8. To exercise severely; to perplex; to trouble. Why should any one . . . beat his head about the Latin grammar who does not intend to be a critic? --Locke. 9. (Mil.) To give the signal for, by beat of drum; to sound by beat of drum; as, to beat an alarm, a charge, a parley, a retreat; to beat the general, the reveille, the tattoo. See Alarm, Charge, Parley, etc. To beat down, to haggle with (any one) to secure a lower price; to force down. [Colloq.] To beat into, to teach or instill, by repetition. To beat off, to repel or drive back. To beat out, to extend by hammering. To beat out of a thing, to cause to relinquish it, or give it up. "Nor can anything beat their posterity out of it to this day." --South. To beat the dust. (Man.) (a) To take in too little ground with the fore legs, as a horse. (b) To perform curvets too precipitately or too low. To beat the hoof, to walk; to go on foot. To beat the wing, to flutter; to move with fluttering agitation. To beat time, to measure or regulate time in music by the motion of the hand or foot. To beat up, to attack suddenly; to alarm or disturb; as, to beat up an enemy's quarters. Syn: To strike; pound; bang; buffet; maul; drub; thump; baste; thwack; thrash; pommel; cudgel; belabor; conquer; defeat; vanquish; overcome.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Parley
Im*parl"\, v. i. [OF. emparler; pref. em- (L. in) + parler to speak. See In, prep., and Parley.]1. To hold discourse; to parley. [Obs.] --Sir. T. North. 2. (Law) To have time before pleading; to have delay for mutual adjustment. --Blackstone.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
parley
parley was Word of the Day on November 4, 2002.
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