palaverとは 意味・読み方・使い方

語源

Originally nautical slang, from Portuguese palavra (“word”), from Late Latin parabola (“parable, speech”). The term's use (especially in Africa) mimics the evolution of the word moot. As such, for sense development, see moot. Doublet of parable, parole, and parabola.

発音

• (英国発音) IPA: /pəˈlɑː.və(ɹ)/
• 韻: -ɑːvə(ɹ)

名詞

palaver (countable and uncountable, plural palavers)

1. (Africa) A village council meeting.
   • 1799, Mungo Park, Travels in the Interior of Africa‎:

     Here we remained four days, on account of a palaver which was held on the following occasion.

   • 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 148:

     That night the village warriors held a big palaver to celebrate their victories, and to choose a new chief.

2. (Canada, US, archaic in Britain) Talk, especially unnecessary talk; chatter. [from 18th c.]

   Synonyms: hot air; see also Thesaurus:chatter

   • 1847, Emily Brontë, chapter III, in Wuthering Heights‎:

     Frances pulled his hair heartily, and then went and seated herself on her husband’s knee, and there they were, like two babies, kissing and talking nonsense by the hour—foolish palaver that we should be ashamed of.

   • 1886, Henry James, The Princess Casamassima, London: Macmillan and Co.:

     These remarks were received with a differing demonstration: some of the company declaring that if the Dutchman cared to come round and smoke a pipe they would be glad to see him—perhaps he'd show where the thumbscrews had been put on; others being strongly of the opinion that they didn't want any more advice—they had already had advice enough to turn a donkey's stomach. What they wanted was to put forth their might without any more palaver; to do something, or for some one; to go out somewhere and smash something, on the spot—why not?—that very night.

   • 1899, Stephen Crane, Active Service:

     Knowing full well the right time and the wrong time for a palaver of regret and disavowal, this battalion struggled in the desperation of despair.

   • 1979, V. S. Naipaul, A Bend in the River:

     Some of the palavers could take half a day.

3. (British) Mentally draining activity, either physical or fuss.

   Synonyms: ado, bother; see also Thesaurus:commotion, Thesaurus:rigmarole

   What a palaver!

   • 1985, Justin Richards, Option Lock, page 229:

     Not for the first time, he reflected that it was not so much the speeches that strained the nerves as the palaver that went with them.

   • 1988, Lord Grimond, House of Lords vol 492 col 695 :

     What's the good of going through all this palaver of giving very small sums to very obscure charities?

   • 2021 February 22, “Life slows down’: the islander who swapped Shetland for living off-grid in a Norway forest”, in Shetland News:

     We fill up the bathtub for a proper bath maybe once a month because it is such a palaver. We have a 150 litre pot and a 60 litre pot that we have to fill up and boil on the wood stove which takes hours.

4. A meeting at which there is much talk; a debate; a moot.
   • 1851, Thomas Carlyle, The Life of John Sterling, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC:

     this country and epoch of parliaments and eloquent palavers

5. (informal) Disagreement.

   Synonyms: conflict, quarrel; see also Thesaurus:dispute

   I have no palaver with him.

6. Talk intended to deceive. [from 19th c.]

   Synonyms: doublespeak, double talk

派生語

派生した語

• → Danish: palaver
• → Finnish: palaveri
• → German: Palaver
• → Hungarian: paláver
• → Swedish: palaver

動詞

palaver (third-person singular simple present palavers, present participle palavering, simple past and past participle palavered)

1. (intransitive) To discuss with much talk.

   Synonyms: jabber, rabbit, yak; see also Thesaurus:prattle

   • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick‎, chapter 21:

     “Come, come, Captain Bildad; stop palavering,—away!” and with that, Peleg hurried him over the side, and both dropt into the boat.

   • 1860 April, Atlantic Monthly, volume 5, number 30:

     “That,” he rejoined, “is a way we Americans have. We cannot stop to palaver. What would become of our manifest destiny?”

2. (transitive) To flatter.

   Synonyms: jolly, puff; see also Thesaurus:flatter

   • 1863, Charles Reade, Hard Cash‎:

     Dodd never spoke to his officers like a ruffian, nor yet palavered them.

参照

• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Palaver”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume VII (O–P), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 390, column 1.