Palaver

Definition: Palaver

Palaver

Noun

1. Flattery intended to persuade.

2. Loud and confused and empty talk; "mere rhetoric".

Verb

1. Speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly.

2. Influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering; "He palavered her into going along".

3. Have a lengthy discussion, usually between people of different backgrounds.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "palaver" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1615. (references)

Literature

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Palaver

Conversation

Verb: talk together, converse, confabulate; hold on a conversation, carry on a conversation, join in a conversation, engage in a conversation; put in a word; shine in conversation; bandy words; parley; palaver; chat, gossip, tattle; prate; (loquacity); powwow.

Palaver, debate, logomachy, war of words.

Council

Assembly, caucus, conclave, clique, conventicle; meeting, sitting, seance, conference, convention, exhibition, session, palaver, pourparler, durbar, house; quorum; council fire, powwow, primary.

Loquacity

Verb: be loquacious; Adjective: talk glibly, pour forth, patter; prate, palaver, prose, chatter, prattle, clack, jabber, jaw; blather, blatter, blether; rattle, rattle on; twaddle, babble, gabble; outtalk; talk oneself out of breath, talk oneself hoarse; expatiate; (speak at length); gossip; (converse); din in the ears; (repeat); talk at random, talk nonsense; be hoarse with talking.

Speech

Noun: speech, faculty of speech; locution, talk, parlance, verbal intercourse, prolation, oral communication, word of mouth, parole, palaver, prattle; effusion.

Unmeaningness

Nonsense, utter nonsense, gibberish; jargon, jabber, mere words, hocus-pocus, fustian, rant, bombast, balderdash, palaver, flummery, verbiage, babble, baverdage, baragouin, platitude, niaiserie; inanity; flap-doodle; rigmarole, rodomontade; truism; nugae canorae; twaddle, twattle, fudge, trash, garbage, humbug; stuff, stuff and nonsense; bosh, rubbish, moonshine, wish-wash, fiddle-faddle; absurdity; vagueness; (unintelligibility).

Crosswords: Palaver

German (palaver), Swedish (palaver).

Palaver (1969)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Big palaver last night (reference)

• Life on Waller Creek : a palaver about history as pure and applied education (reference)

• Mexico and the Old Southwest: People, Palaver, Places (reference)

• Schweiz ohne Armee? : ein Palaver (reference)

• Socio-political aspects of the palaver in some African countries (reference)

  (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Albanian

pallavra (drivel, drool, jiggery pokery, piffle), lajkatoj (adulate, Blandish, blarney, butter up, cajole, coax, flatter, make up to, play up to, smarm, soft soap, wheedle), lajka (blandishment, butter, flatteries, flummery, oiliness, taffy), gjepura (apple sauce, balderdash, baloney, blague, blether, boloney, bosh, bunco, buncombe, bunk, bunko, claptrap, crap, drivel, drool, eyewash, fiddledeedee, fiddle-faddle, fiddlesticks, flam, flannel, flapdoodle, flimflam, flubdub, footle, galimatias, gammon, hog-wash, hokum, humbug, jazz, jiggery pokery, moonshine, nonsense, piffle, poppycock, punk, rot, rubbish, stuff and nonsense, taradiddle, tosh, trash, twaddle, vacuity, waffle, wish-wash), flas (discourse, hold forth, say, speak, talk), bisedime (negotiation, parley). (various references)

Arabic 

‏كلام خادع, ‏مناقشة طويلة, ‏هذر (chatter, gabble, garrulity, gibber, logorrhea, loquacity, patter, prate, prolixity, twaddle, twitter), ‏لغو (chat, chatter, chitchat, crack, logorrhea, loquacity, moonshine, slipslop, small talk, tittle tattle, twitter), ‏حادث (accident, episode, happening, incident, make a speech, mishap), ‏حديث (chat, colloquy, conversation, discourse, late, modernistic, new, newfangled, speech, talk, yarn), ‏تملق (adulate, blandish, blarney, butter, butter up, cajole, cajolery, coax, coaxing, compliment, con, court, cringe, curry favor with, curry favour with, fawn, flatter, flattery, incense, ingratiate oneself, insinuation, kowtow, lick his boots, make, mawkish, oiliness, servilism, soap, soft soap, subservience, suck up to, sweet talk, taffy, toady, wheedle), ‏ثرثر (babble, blab, blabber, bluster, chatter, clack, clatter, crack, gabble, gas, gibber, give oneself airs, gossip, jabber, jangle, jaw, natter, patter, prate, prattle, quack, rap, rumble, shoot one's mouth off, smatter, talk, tattle, twaddle, twitter, yap). (various references)

Bulgarian 

неприятна работа (hot potato), неприятна история, ласкателство (adulation, blandishment, blarney, cajolement, cajolery, flattery, lip salve, oil, soap, soft sawder, soft soap, sweet talk, taffy, toadyism), лаская (adulate, beslaver, blarney, cajole, carny, coax, flatter, incense, jolly, sawder, soap, soft soap, sugar), бръщолевя (babble, gabble), брътвеж (babble, chat, footle, prate, prattle, quack, rigmarole, wash), празни приказки (babble, eyewash, flim-flam, froth, fudge, gas, jazz, natter, patter, piffle, talk, tittle tattle, twaddle, wind, yack), подмилкване (cringe, cringing), подмилквам се на, дърдоря (cackle, dodder, gab, gabble, jabber, jaw, patter, prate, tattle), дълги разговори, дълги преговори. (various references)

Czech

prázdné řeèi, tlachat (blab, cackle, chatter, gas, jaw, talk, tittle tattle, waffle, yap), tlachání (cackle, gab, gas, talk, twaddle, waffle), řeènìní (oratory, rant), žvanit (babble, blab, burble, cackle, gabble, gas, natter, pettifog, piffle, prate, prattle, rattle, spout, talk, tattle, tittle tattle, twaddle, waffle, yap). (various references)

Farsi 

پرحرفی کردن (Gash), مکالمه (Colloquium, Conversation, Parlance), هرزه دراءی (Cackle), چاخان کردن (Vapor), گفتگوی مفصل , وراجی (Cackle, Jaw, Yack), ازراه بدربردن (Inveigle). (various references)

French

palabrer, palabre, entretien. (various references)

German

prozedur (carry on, procedure), palavern (spout), palaver, umstand (case, circumstance, conjuncture, fact), theater (audience, carry on, drama, fuss, game, hassle, kerfuffle, scene, stage, theater, theater US, theaters, theaters US, theatre, theatres, to-do), spuk (din, fuss, ghost, phantom, racket, spook, to-do), spektakel (bother, fracas, fracases, fuss, hullabaloo, row, ruction, rumpus, show, spectacle), hokuspokus (conjuring trick, hey presto, hocus pocus, jiggery pokery, malarkey, mumbo jumbo), heckmeck (fuss, nonsense, rubbish), geschwätz (bunk, drivel, flubdub, gab, gossip, gossiping, idle talk, jaw, prattle, rigmarole, tittle tattle). (various references)

Greek 

συνδιάσκεψη (conference), φλυαρώ (babble, blabber, chatter, gab, gabble, gibber, gossip, jabber, prate, rattle away, tattle, tittle tattle, twaddle, waffle, yammer, yap, yatter), φλυαρία (babble, babblement, cackle, chatter, chin wagging, chit chat, claptrap, gab, gabble, garrulity, garrulousness, loquacity, prate, prattle, prittle prattle, rattle, tittle tattle, yapp), διαπραγμάτευση (negotiation, parley). (various references)

Hebrew 

לפטפט (babble, blather, chat, chatter, gabble, gossip, jabber, prate, prattle, shoot ones mouth off), שיח�" בטל�" (bull session, bytalk), שיח�" (conversation, discourse, talk, talking). (various references)

Hungarian

megbeszélés (appointment, conference, conversation, discussion, interview, pow-wow, talk over), hízelgés (adulation, blandishment, blarney, butter, cajolery, cajoling, coaxing, flattering, flattery, sawder, soft solder, sycophancy, taffy), fecsegés (babble, blab, blat, blatter, cackle, chaffering, chat, chatter, clack, clash, driveling, drivelling, gab, gabble, gossiping, jabber, jangle, lip, loquacity, piffle, prattle, small talk, talk, tattle, tittle-tattle, twaddle), üres beszéd (blether, bunk, bunkum, flapdoodle, hot air, piffle, punk, talk). (various references)

Indonesian

perundingan (deliberation, negotiation). (various references)

Italian

storie, discussione (argument, argumentation, debate, discussion, parley, question, talk), conversazione (confabulation, conversation, entertainment, talk), conferenza (conference, congress, discussion, lecture), chiacchiere (cackle, cackles, moonshine, patter, prittle prattle, scandal, small talk). (various references)

Pig Latin

alaverpay.(various references)

Portuguese

palavrear (jabber), palavreado (jabber, rattle, verbiage), negócio (affair, bargain, building, business, business deal, case, concernment, deal, dealing, matter, thing, trade, trading, transaction), lisonjear (beslobber, bespatter, blandish, butter, butter up, cajole, coax, cog, flatter, jolly, lackey, lacquey, soft-soap, wheedle), lisonja (blandishment, blarney, butter, coaxing, flattery, incense, lipsalve, sawder, sugar), falar muito, conversa inútil e oca, bajulação (adulation, blarney, courtliness, fawning, toadyism), assunto (affair, article, business, business deal, case, concernment, dead set, full stop, material, matter, motif, object, point, proposition, question, shebang, subject, subject-matter, text, theme, thing, topic), adular (adulate, blandish, blarney, butter, butter up, cajole, fawn, flatter, soft-soap, wheedle). (various references)

Romanian

spune verzi şi uscate, amestec (admixture, blend, composite, compound, concoction, connection, crossing, disarray, farrago, fusion, hash, hotchpotch, huddle, interference, intermixture, intervening, jumble, mash, medley, mixture, muddle, olio, omnium gatherum), flecãri (babble, blab, blether, cackle, chatter, gossip, humbug, prate, prattle, rattle, talk, tattle, tittle tattle), linguşi (blandish, butter, cajole, coax, flannel, flatter, jolly, toady, wheedle), linguşiri, minciuni, negocieri (parley), afacere (affair, affairs, bargain, business, business deal, case, commerce, concern, deal, dealings, enterprise, go, job, matter, pennyworth, percentage, show, speculation, tasks, trade, transaction, undertaking), se linguşi pe lângã, vorbe mieroase (blarney), spune vorbe mieroase, trãncãni (Bab, babble, cackle, clack, clash, clatter, cosher, gab, gibber, gossip, jabber, jangle, Maunder, natter, prate, prattle, rattle, talk, tattle, yap), tratative (conversation, parley, talks, transactions), treabã (affair, affairs, business, concern, employment, engagement, job, matter, occasion, pidgin, proposition, task, work), vorbãrie (babble, chit chat, clack, gabble, phrase, talk, twaddle), vorbe goale (bumkum, hot air, lip service, mere words, phrase-mongering, rave, wind), se linguşi (crawl, fawn, jolly, slaver, spaniel, toady). (various references)

Russian 

пустая болтовня (guff, hot, idle talk, lip-labour, rigmarole). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

torokanje (chatter, gabble, tittle tattle). (various references)

Spanish

palabrería (blurb, jaw, jazz, waffle, wordiness), palabrear, lío (bundle, caper, clutter, do, fuss, game, hash, hassle, imbroglio, intrigue, liaison, mess, mix up, muddle, package, pell mell, pellmell, ruckus, ruction, rumpus, scrape, snarl up, stink, tangle, truss, wad), engatusar (cajole, coax, draw on, get round, hoodwink, jolly, lead on, vamp, wheedle), engatusamiento (cajolement, cajolery, coaxing, wheedle), discutir con (Bicker, haggle, vie), conferencia (confabulation, conference, conference call, lecture, powwow, prelection, symposium, toll call), charlatanería (patter, pitch), asunto (affair, business, business deal, case, concern, gimmick, issue, item, matter, subject, thing, topic). (various references)

Swedish

prat (buzz, cackle, chatter, gab, gas, talk, talking, wind), parlamentering (parley), parlamentera (parley), palaver, snacka (chat, chatter, chew the fat, gas, gossip, jaw, prattle), snack (gas, jaw, jazz, patter, prattle, yap), smickra (beslobber, blandish, butter up, cajole, Carney, carny, coax, flannel, flatter, snow, tickle), smicker (apple-sauce, blandishment, blarney, flannels, flattery, sawder, soft soap), hålla långa överläggningar, babbla (babble, gabble, gibber, jabber, jaw, jibber, prate, prattle, rap, waffle), överläggning (counsel, deliberation, discussion, parley). (various references)

Turkish

pohpohlamak (adulate, butter up, flatter, incense, lay it on, lay it on thickly, lay it on with a trowel, sweet talk), pohpohlama (adulation, flattery, incense, rose water, soft soap, sugarplum), palavra atmak (boast, romance), palavra (applesauce, baloney, boasting, boloney, bounce, braggadocio, bragging, bunk, bunkum, claptrap, cock and bull story, eyewash, fish story, flubdub, flummery, gaff, hot air, jazz, lie, talkee-talkee, tall story), yerlilerle görüşmek, yerlilerle görüşme, yağ çekmek (beslaver, beslobber, blandish, blarney, butter up, lay it on thickly, oil, shine up to, suck up to, toady), boş lâf (applesauce, babble, balderdash, bosh, bunkum, comment, empty words, falderal, fiddle, fiddle-de-dee, flimflam, flubdub, flummery, froth, fudge, gab, galimatias, garbage, gas, guff, haver, hokum, hooey, hot air, inanity, jazz, lark, moonshine, poppycock, punk, routine, small talk, talky-talk, tripe, vaporings, vapourings, waffle, wind, wishy-wash). (various references)

Ukrainian

нарада (consultation, council, counsel), лестощі (adulation, cajolement, cajolery, flattery, oil, sugar, sugarplum, sycophancy, wheedle), балакнина (gup), балакати (babble, blab, chat, prose), підлещуватися (adulate, crouch, curry favor, curry favour, flatter, wheedle). (various references)

Vietnamese 

lời phỉnh phờ (cajolery), lời nói ba hoa lời dỗ ngọt, chuyện l� m ăn, cọc (pile, wattle). (various references)

parabola. (various references)

palavra. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "palaver": palavered, palavering, palavers. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Palaver" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: apliavit, Pahlevi, Palade, palavar, palave, Palfalvi, paliver, Pallava, paluver, Panavia, panavic, pazaver, penalver, pilver, plava, plave, pulaver, salaver. (additional references)

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: earlap, larvae.

-2 letters: areal, arval, larva, laver, palea, paler, parae, parle, parve, paver, pearl, ravel, velar.

-3 letters: alae, alar, aper, area, aver, earl, lava, lave, leap, lear, leva, pale, para, pare, pave, peal, pear, plea, rale, rape, rave, real, reap, vale, vara, veal, vela, vera.

-4 letters: aal, ala, ale, alp, ape, are, ava, ave.

-5 letters: aa.

+1 letter: palavers, precaval.

+2 letters: palavered, palsgrave, verapamil.

+3 letters: approvable, palavering, palsgraves, verapamils.

+4 letters: vaporizable.