palaver

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 29, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>palaver</strong> &#149; \puh-LAV-er\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><strong>1 a :</strong> a long discussion or meeting <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parley#h2">parley</a> usually between persons of different cultures or levels of sophistication</p> <p><strong>b :</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conference">conference</a>, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discussion">discussion</a></p> <p><strong>2 a :</strong> idle talk</p> <p><strong>b :</strong> misleading or beguiling speech</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>Enough of this <em>palaver</em>. We have a lot to discuss.</p> <p>"[Adrian Daub] brings the same sharp eye for sophistry to other forms of <em>palaver</em> that move capital in Silicon Valley. He revisits the actual thinkers appropriated by TED bloviators, from the philosopher Marshall McLuhan to the French historian René Girard to the novelist Ayn Rand." — Virginia Heffernan, <em>The New York Times</em>, 22 Nov. 2020</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>During the 18th century, Portuguese and English sailors often met during trading trips along the West African coast. This contact prompted the English to borrow the Portuguese <em>palavra</em>, which usually means "speech" or "word" but was used by Portuguese traders with the specific meaning "discussions with natives." The Portuguese word traces back to the Late Latin <em>parabola</em>, a noun meaning "speech" or "parable."</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>