Main Entry: par·lia·ment

Pronunciation: \ˈpär-lə-mənt also ˈpärl-yə-\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French parlement, from parler

Date: 13th century

1 : a formal conference for the discussion of public affairs; specifically : a council of state in early medieval England
2 a : an assemblage of the nobility, clergy, and commons called together by the British sovereign as the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom b : a similar assemblage in another nation or state
3 a : the supreme legislative body of a usually major political unit that is a continuing institution comprising a series of individual assemblages b : the British House of Commons
4 : one of several principal courts of justice existing in France before the Revolution of 1789