n. (US parlor)
1. a sitting-room in a private house.
2 a room in a hotel, convent, etc., for the private use of residents.
3 esp. US a shop providing specified goods or services (beauty parlour; ice-cream parlour).
4 a room or building equipped for milking cows.
5 (attrib.) derog. denoting support for political views by those who do not try to practise them (parlour socialist).
Phrases and idioms:
parlour game an indoor game, esp. a word game. parlour-maid hist. a maid who waits at table.
Etymology: ME f. AF parlur, OF parleor, parleur: see PARLANCE