OriginInherited from Middle English parlen (“to speak”), from Middle French parler, from Old French parler, from Late Latin parabolō.
- countable, obsolete, uncountableParley; talk.
“Iul[ia]. Of all the faire reſort of Gentlemen, / That euery day with par’le encounter me, / In thy opinion which is worthieſt loue?”
- countable, obsolete, uncountableA nasty encounter.
“Hor[atio].[…]So frown’d he once, when in an angry parle / He ſmot the ſledded Pollax on the Ice.”
- intransitive, obsoleteTo talk; to converse; to parley.
“[…]Knute finding himſelf too weak, began to parle,[…]”
Formsparles(plural) · parles(present, singular, third-person) · parling(participle, present) · parled(participle, past) · parled(past)