English
palaver
Palaver comes from Portuguese palavra ‘word’, from Ancient Greek παραβολή ‘a placing of two things side by side,…’, and ultimately from παραβάλλω ‘to throw beside, by or to, to hold out’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαραβάλλω1parabállō‘to throw beside, by or to, to hold out’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαραβολή1parabolḗ‘a placing of two things side by side, juxtaposition’
- Late Latinmodernparabola1
- Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500paravla1
- Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500palavra1‘word’
- Portuguesec. 1500–presentpalavra1‘word’
- Englishearliest quotation 1799palaver1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English palaver
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1799, Mungo Park: “Here we remained four days, on account of a…”.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαραβάλλωWiktionary, English palaverparabállō‘to throw beside, by or to, to hold out’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαραβολήWiktionary, English palaverparabolḗ‘a placing of two things side by side, juxtaposition’
- Late LatinmodernparabolaWiktionary, English palaver
- Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500paravlaWiktionary, English palaver
- Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500palavraWiktionary, English palaver‘word’
- Portuguesec. 1500–presentpalavraWiktionary, English palaver‘word’
- Englishearliest quotation 1799palaverWiktionary, English palaver. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1799, Mungo Park: “Here we remained four days, on account of a…”
A compound of πᾰρᾰ́ ‘from’ + παρα- + βάλλω ‘to throw, cast, hurl’
Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- ‘before, in front’
Proto-Hellenic *pərai ‘from’
Ancient Greek πᾰρᾰ́ ‘from’
Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- ‘to throw, reach, pierce’
Proto-Hellenic *gʷəlnō
Ancient Greek βάλλω ‘to throw, cast, hurl’
The story
The term's use (especially in Africa) mimics the evolution of the word moot. As such, for sense development, see moot.
Linked words
through Ancient Greek παραβολή ‘a placing of two things side by side,…’
parliament, parole, parable, parabolic, parley, parabola, 4 more
Today it means
noun A village council meeting.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “palaver”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek παραβάλλω / palaver