Parliamentary

How to spell parliamentary

13 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce parliamentary

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does parliamentary mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to a parliament, its members, or the rules and procedures by which it conducts business.

Parliamentary in a sentence

• The bill passed after a long parliamentary debate.

• She built her career as a skilled parliamentary reporter covering the chamber.

Where does parliamentary come from?

Language of origin: French

This word descends from the Old French parlement, which originally meant a 'speaking' or 'discussion', built on the verb parler, 'to talk', itself from the Late Latin parabolare, 'to speak in comparisons or parables'. In medieval England parliament came to name the formal assembly summoned to deliberate matters of state, and the adjective parliamentary was formed in English in the early 1600s by adding the Latin-derived suffix -ary, meaning 'relating to'. The hidden trap in the spelling is the silent middle: the cluster 'lia' is pronounced as if it were just 'la', so writers easily drop the 'i' that the French parler root left behind. The same parler ancestor lurks inside the everyday words 'parley' and 'parlour', both rooms or moments set aside for talking. Remembering that a parliament is literally a place for speaking helps fix that easily forgotten 'i'.

How the word is built

• parl- (from French parler: to speak)
• -ament (noun-forming element, as in parliament)
• -ary (adjective suffix)