parliamentarian

noun

par·​lia·​men·​tar·​i·​an ˌpär-lə-ˌmen-ˈter-ē-ən 

-mən-

also ˌpärl-yə-

1

often Parliamentarian : an adherent of the parliament in opposition to the king during the English Civil War

2

: an expert in the rules and usages of a deliberative assembly (such as a parliament)

3

: a member of a parliament

Examples of parliamentarian in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Trump wrongly said MacDonough was appointed by former President Barack Obama (Senate parliamentarians are hired by the Senate Secretary, who is elected by the Senate, and serve at the pleasure of the majority leader). —Sara Dorn, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026

The parliamentarian kept most of the immigration portion of the legislation intact, though some minor provisions were blocked, including Customs and Border Patrol funds to hire, train and pay Border Patrol agents. —Mary Clare Jalonick, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026

During the Biden administration, the parliamentarian dealt a blow to Democrats by ruling against filibuster protections for efforts to raise the minimum wage and ease some immigration laws. —Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 18 May 2026

Senate Democrats celebrated the parliamentarian's ruling but predicted Republicans will try to push the funding through Congress by other legislative means. —Joey Garrison, USA Today, 18 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

parliament + -arian

First Known Use

1642, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for parliamentarian

• antiquarian
• libertarian
• millenarian
• nonsectarian
• proletarian
• sanitarian
• trinitarian
• unitarian
• vegetarian
• veterinarian
• agrarian
• aquarian

Kids Definition

parliamentarian

noun

par·​lia·​men·​tar·​i·​an ˌpär-lə-ˌmen-ˈter-ē-ən 

-mən-

also ˌpärl-yə-

: an expert in parliamentary procedure

Legal Definition

parliamentarian

noun

par·​lia·​men·​tar·​i·​an ˌpär-lə-ˌmen-ˈtar-ē-ən, ˌpärl-yə-, -mən- 

1

: an expert in the rules and usages of a parliament or other deliberative assembly

specifically, often capitalized : an officer of a legislative body acting as adviser on matters of procedure

Note: The parliamentarian of the U.S. House of Representatives is appointed by the Speaker of the House. The Secretary of the Senate appoints the Senate's parliamentarian with approval of the majority leader.

2

: a member of a parliament