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Webster 1913 Edition

Parliament

Par′lia-ment

,
Noun.
[OE.
parlement
, F.
parlement
, fr.
parler
to speak; cf. LL.
parlamentum
,
parliamentum
. See
Parley
.]
1.
A parleying; a discussion; a conference.
[Obs.]
But first they held their
parliament
.
Rom. of R.
2.
A formal conference on public affairs; a general council;
esp.,
an assembly of representatives of a nation or people having authority to make laws.
They made request that it might be lawful for them to summon a
parliament
of Gauls.
Golding.
3.
The assembly of the three estates of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, viz., the lords spiritual, lords temporal, and the representatives of the commons, sitting in the House of Lords and the House of Commons, constituting the legislature, when summoned by the royal authority to consult on the affairs of the nation, and to enact and repeal laws.
☞ Thought the sovereign is a constituting branch of Parliament, the word is generally used to denote the three estates named above.
4.
In France, before the Revolution of 1789, one of the several principal judicial courts.
Parliament heel
,
the inclination of a ship when made to careen by shifting her cargo or ballast.
–
Parliament hinge
(Arch.)
,
a hinge with so great a projection from the wall or frame as to allow a door or shutter to swing back flat against the wall.
–
Long Parliament
,
Rump Parliament
.
See under
Long
, and
Rump
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Parliament

P`ARLIAMENT

,
Noun.
Literally, a speaking, conference, mutual discourse or consultation; hence,
1.
In Great Britain, the grand assembly of the three estates, the lords spiritual, lords temporal, and the commons; the general council of the nation constituting the legislature, summoned by the king's authority to consult on the affairs of the nation, and to enact and repeal laws. Primarily, the king may be considered as a constituent branch of parliament; but the word is generally used to denote the three estates above named, consisting of two distinct branches, the house of lords and house of commons.
The word parliament was introduced into England under the Norman kings. The supreme council of the nation was called under the Saxon kings, wittenage-mote, the meeting of wise men or sages.
2.
The supreme council of Sweden, consisting of four estates; the nobility and representatives of the gentry; the clergy, one of which body is elected from every rural deanery of ten parishes; the burghers, elected by the magistrates and council of every corporation; and the peasants, elected by persons of their own order.
3.
In France, before the revolution, a council or court consisting of certain noblemen.

Definition 2024

Parliament

Parliament

See also: parliament

English

Proper noun

Parliament

  1. Any of several parliaments of various countries.

parliament

parliament

See also: Parliament

English

The Palace of Westminster in London, England, which is the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Noun

parliament ‎(plural parliaments)

  1. (politics) Meanings relating to a political body authorized to exercise governmental powers.
    1. An institution whose elected or appointed members meet to debate the major political issues of the day and usually to exercise legislative powers and sometimes judicial powers.
      • 2011 December 14, Angelique Chrisafis, “Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 19 April 2016:
        The row started over who will run for parliament in a wealthy rightwing constituency on the left bank in Paris, a safe seat for [Nicolas] Sarkozy's ruling UMP. [Rachida] Dati is already a local mayor in the neighbourhood, a job felt to have been handed to her on a plate when she was a Sarkozy favourite. She has since fallen from grace, and when she left government she took a European parliament seat, considered a consolation prize.
    2. A group of representatives of the people elected or appointed to serve as a parliament (in sense 1 above) for a certain period of time. In this sense the word is commonly used with an ordinal number (for example, first parliament and 12th parliament) or a descriptive adjective (for example, Long Parliament, Short Parliament and Rump Parliament).
      Following the general election, Jane Doe took her oath of office as a member of the nation's fifth parliament.‎
  2. A flock of owls or rooks.
  3. (historical) Parliament cake; a type of gingerbread.

Alternative forms

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman parliament, parlement, parliment, and Middle French and Old French parlement ‎(“discussion, meeting, negotiation; assembly, council”), from parler ‎(“to speak”) + -ment ‎(“-ment, suffix forming nouns from verbs, usually indicating an action or state resulting from them”) (from Latin -mentum). Compare Late Latin parlamentum, parliamentum ‎(“discussion, meeting; council or court summoned by the monarch”), Italian parlamento.

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