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

This is one of the few glimpses that the film offers of the Special Military Operation, as Russia’s war in Ukraine is known in official parlance. — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026

Citizenship in general parlance has been reduced to legal status. — Trygve Throntveit, Christian Science Monitor, 28 Oct. 2026

The last attack—or troll, to use modern parlance—has proven to be particularly popular on the car internet due to the price discrepancy between the two EVs. — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 22 Oct. 2026

No anything from any words that have not been used in popular parlance since the 1940s. — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Oct. 2026

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