parlance
Americannoun
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a way or manner of speaking; vernacular; idiom.
legal parlance.
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speech, especially a formal discussion or debate.
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talk; parley.
noun
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a particular manner of speaking, esp when specialized; idiom
political parlance
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archaic any discussion, such as a debate
Etymology
Origin of parlance
Explanation
The noun parlance means the manner of speaking and using words. Your 15-year-old will tell you that you are definitely not fluent in the parlance of teenagers, no matter how cool you think you are. Parlance comes from the French word parler, meaning "to speak." The noun is often used to refer to the jargon or slang a certain group or industry uses. If you work in the sciences, you'll be familiar with the parlance of scientists and be familiar with such jargon as "goodness of fit" and "iff", which means "if and only if". But if you are not a scientist, you may stumble when you first come across such terms.
Vocabulary lists containing parlance
Just Mercy
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Twelve Years a Slave
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The Boys in the Boat
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In financial markets parlance, a “left tail” outcome refers to a major crash.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 11, 2026
Once storage fills up—a condition known in industry parlance as “tank tops”—producers face the technically and politically costly reality of halting production.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
As details of the crash emerged in news reports, his heart sank: The plane was a Canadair Regional Jet, or CRJ in airline parlance, the same aircraft that Sam piloted.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026
It was once said, for instance, that Disney’s cast members — staff, in park parlance — would be able to recognize if someone’s personality leaned resistance, First Order or rogue.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2026
He was, in the parlance of horsemen, “bombproof.”
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
