ˈpärləmənt, ˈpȧl-, chiefly non-British -lyəm- or sometimes -lēəm- noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English parliament, parlement, from Old French parlement, from parler, parlier to speak, talk + -ment
1. : a formal conference for the discussion of public affairs ; specifically : a general or great council of state summoned by the sovereign in early medieval England
2.
a. : an assemblage of persons (as members of the nobility, clergy, and commons) called together by the British sovereign, sitting for a period of time and then being dissolved, and constituting the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom
provides for the election and meeting of a new parliament — T.E.May
sat through three parliaments — Christopher Hollis
inspired … by the counsel of their elected parliaments — Elizabeth II
— compare : congress 5
b. : a similar assemblage in another political unit (as a nation or state)
the third session of Ceylon's second parliament — London Daily Telegraph
elected to Italy's first parliament — J.C.Adams & Paolo Barile
3.
a. : the supreme legislative body of a usually major political unit (as a nation or state) being a continuing institution comprising a series of individual parliaments
the parliament of the United Kingdom is composed of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons — T.E.May
reached the committee stage in the French parliament — New York Times
the imperial parliament is the supreme legislature for the whole of His Majesty's dominions — Martin Wight
— compare congress 3
b. : the British House of Commons
confer office only upon members of parliament or peers — Ivor Jennings
4.
[Middle French parlement, from Old French]
: one of several principal courts of justice existing in France before the revolution of 1789
5.
a. : an assembly representing a group or the members of an organization and usually convened for the expression of opinion, enactment of policy, and the transaction of other business
the Students' Parliament is the official undergraduate organization — University of Toronto Calendar
these general union meetings are … the parliaments of any enterprise or plant — A.R.Williams
b. : a gathering resembling or held to resemble such a consultative assembly
the rooks called one another to their evening parliament — Archibald Marshall
6. : parliament cake
7. : fan-tan 2