parliamentarian
1012
Parliament, they often mean only the House of Com-
mons. 3 [C] a parliament as it exists for the time between
its ceremonial opening and its official closing: Several new
laws have been passed in/during the present parliament. ->
see also HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT, ACT OF PARLIAMENT and
see Feature on page A20
**par·lia·men·tar·i·an** /ˌpɑːləmənˈtɛəriənˌpær-/ n **1** a per-
son who is a skilled and experienced member of a parlia-
ment **2** [often pl.] (usually cap.) a ROUNDHEAD
**par·lia·men·ta·ry** /ˌpɑːləˈmɛntəri ǁˌpɑːr-/ adj of or suit-
able for a parliament: parliamentary procedure -> see also
UNPARLIAMENTARY
**parliamentary ma'jority** n (in Britain) the amount by
which the number of MPs belonging to the ruling party is
greater than the number of MPs belonging to all other
parties: For some time Wilson's government had a parliamen-
tary majority of only three.
**parliamentary 'privilege** n (in Britain) any of several
special rights which are given to MPs, e.g. freedom of speech,
and not having to serve as a member of a JURY
**parliamentary 'secretary** n a British MP who usually has
the title Junior Minister and who helps a minister of high
rank with the work of his/her department
**'parlor car** n AmE for PULLMAN
**par·lour** BrE || **parlor** AmE /'pɑ:lə ǁ 'pɑ:r-/ n **1** especially AmE (in
comb.) a shop for some kind of personal service or for selling
a particular type of article: an ice-cream parlour | a massage
parlour **2** old-fash a room in a private house used by the
family for meeting guests, reading, and other amuse-
ments **3** old-fash a room in certain public buildings where
guests are received: the mayor's parlour **4** 'Will you walk
into my parlour?' said a spider to a fly quote the first line of
a poem by Mary Howitt, often mentioned when saying that
a person will pretend to be friendly in order to get some-
thing that they want -> see also BEAUTY PARLOUR
**'parlour game** n old-fash a game which can be played
indoors, usually sitting down, such as a guessing game or a
word game
**par·lour·maid** BrE || **parlormaid** AmE /'pɑ:ləmeɪd ǁ
'pɑ:rlər-/ n old-fash a female servant employed in a large
house to serve guests in the parlour
**par·lous** /'pɑ:ləs ǁ 'pɑ:r-/ adj fml or humor in danger of failing;
uncertain and dangerous: My finances are in a pretty parlous
condition. (=I haven't much money.) | the parlous state of
international relations
**Par·me·san** /ˌpɑːmɪˈzæn ǁ ˌpɑːrmɪˈzɑːn, -zæn/ also
**Parmesan 'cheese** n [U] a hard, strong-tasting Italian
cheese. It is usually sold finely grated (GRATE) (=cut up into
very small bits) and is used to put on top of PASTA dishes.
**Par·nas·sus** /pɑːˈnæsəs ǁ pɑːr-/ a high mountain in central
Greece. In ancient times it was thought to be a holy place of
the gods APOLLO and DIONYSUS, and of the MUSES (=god-
desses of art and science)
**Par·nell, Charles Stewart** /pɑːˈnel ǁ pɑːr-/ (1846-91) an
Irish politician who was a member of the British Parliament.
He was a leading supporter of the idea of HOME RULE
(=self-government) for Ireland, and favoured the use of
violent and illegal methods, for which he was briefly put in
prison.
**pa·ro·chi·al** /pəˈrəʊkiəl/ adj **1** derog limited or narrow in
range; interested in or dealing only with things close to
oneself: Local newspapers tend to be very parochial. -> com-
pare INSULAR **2** of a PARISH -> **-ly** adv -> **-ism** n [U]
**pa'rochial ,school** n a private school which is run by, or
connected with, a church
**par·o·dy¹** /'pærədi/ n **1** [C;U (of, on)] (a piece of) writing or
music intended to amuse, which recognizably copies the
style of a known writer or musician -> compare SAT-
IRE **2** [C(of)] derog a weak and unsuccessful copy; TRAVESTY:
The trial was a parody of justice. -> **-dist** n
**parody²** v [T] to make a parody of
**pa·role¹** /pəˈrəʊl/ n [U] **1** the letting out of a prisoner for a
limited time, on condition that they return: He was released
on parole to go to his daughter's wedding. **2** the letting out
of a prisoner before the official period of their imprison-
ment has ended, on condition that they behave well: The
sentence was for fifteen years but he was released on parole
after ten years.
**parole²** v [T] to set free on parole
**pa'role ,board** n the people who decide if a prisoner should
get permission to leave prison
**par·ox·ys·m** /'pærəksɪzəm/ n [(of)] **1** a sudden uncontrolla-
ble expression of strong feeling: a paroxysm of rage/laugh-
ter **2** a sudden but passing attack (of a sharp pain or a
disease that comes regularly): paroxysms of pain/of cough-
ing
**par·quet** /'pɑːkeɪ, 'pɑːki ǁ pɑːr'keɪ/ n [U] small flat blocks of
wood fitted together in a pattern and stuck onto the floor of
a room: a parquet floor
**par·ri·cide** /'pærɪsaɪd/ n **1** [U] fml the crime of killing one's
father, mother, or a close relative **2** [C] tech a person guilty
of this crime -> compare MATRICIDE, PATRICIDE
**Par·rish, Max·field** /'pærɪʃ, 'mæksfi:ld/ (1870-1966) a US
artist famous for his ILLUSTRATIONS (=pictures in books),
which are romantic and colourful, and show light in a
slightly SURREAL way
**par·rot¹** /'pærət/ n **1** any of
a large group of usually
tropical birds that have a
curved beak and usually
brightly coloured feathers.
Some of these birds can be
taught to copy human
speech. They are sometimes
taken to other countries and
kept as pets.
parrot
**CULTURAL NOTE** Polly is a TRADITIONAL name for a parrot,
and parrots are often taught to say 'pretty Polly'. In stories
PIRATES often have a parrot which sits on their shoulder
and says 'pieces of eight' (old, valuable coins). -> see
also LONG JOHN SILVER, PIRATE
**2** usually derog a person who copies, often without understand-
ing, the words or actions of another **3** parrot fashion usually
derog by means of continuous repeating, but usually without
real understanding: The children learnt the poem parrot
fashion. -> see also DEAD PARROT SKETCH, sick as a parrot
(SICK)
**parrot²** v [T] usually derog to repeat (the words or actions of
someone else) without thinking or understanding
**par·ry¹** /'pæri/ v [T] to turn aside or keep away (an attacking
blow or a weapon); DEFLECT: (fig.) He parried the unwelcome
question very skilfully.
**parry²** n an act of parrying; movement of defence in some
sports, especially FENCING
**parse** /pɑːz ǁ pɑːrs/ v [T] tech (in grammar) **1** to state the PART OF
SPEECH, the form in grammar, and the use in a particular
sentence of (a word) **2** to give this information about all the
words in (a sentence) -> **parser** n: an automatic parser that
uses a computer program
**Par·see, Parsi** /pɑːˈsiː ǁ 'pɑːrsi/ n a member of an ancient
religious group, the Zoroastrians who were originally from
Iran and now mostly live in Bombay, in India -> **Parsee,**
**Parsi** adj: a Parsee temple
**par·si·mo·ni·ous** /ˌpɑːsɪˈməʊniəs ǁˌpɑːr-/ adj fml, usually
derog extremely careful with money; unwilling to spend;
STINGY: a parsimonious person/gift -> **-ly** adv -> **-ness** n [U]
**par·si·mo·ny** /'pɑːsɪməni ǁ 'pɑːrsɪmoʊni/ n [U] fml, usually
derog the quality of being parsimonious; failure to be gener-
ous
**pars·ley** /'pɑːsli ǁ 'pɑːr-/ n [U] a small plant (HERB) with curly
strong-tasting leaves, grown in gardens and used in cooking
or as a decoration on food
**,parsley 'sauce** n [U] a WHITE SAUCE (=a thick white liquid
cooked with flour) with finely cut up parsley in it, eaten in
Britain especially with fish
**pars·nip** /'pɑːsnɪp ǁ 'pɑːr-/ n [C;U] (a plant with) a thick
white or yellowish root that is used as a vegetable