parlance

noun

par·​lance ˈpär-lən(t)s 

1

: speech

especially : formal debate or parley

… battle and not parlance should determine his right and title.

—John Speed

2

: manner or mode of speech : idiom

The company's computer system had, in computer parlance, "crashed."

Examples of parlance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For the first time in Coachella’s 25-year history, organizers added a live performance on the opening Thursday of the festival, known in Coachella fan parlance as Zero Day. —Dave Brooks, Billboard, 11 Apr. 2025

Russia's Programs Moscow's Su-57 jet—or Felon, in NATO parlance—is widely deemed a fifth-generation aircraft, but one that has been largely absent from the Kremlin's war effort in Ukraine. —Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025

In Wall Street parlance, that means the cohort is underpenetrated . —Michelle Fox, CNBC, 20 Mar. 2025

The second is that every episode is filmed in a single shot — or, in filmmaking parlance, a oner. —Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 11 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English parlaunce, borrowed from Anglo-French parlance, parlaunce "speech, gossip, debate," from parler "to speak, talk" + -aunce, -ance -ance — more at parley entry 2

Note: Parlance is much more amply attested in Anglo-French than in continental Old and Middle French, especially after ca. 1300. The Dictionnaire du moyen français has only marginal evidence for the word after 1350.

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing parlance

• in common parlance

Kids Definition

parlance

noun

par·​lance ˈpär-lən(t)s 

: manner of speech