Word Of The Day

Word of the Day for Thursday August 18, 2005

parley \PAR-lee\, noun:

• A conference or discussion, especially with an enemy, as with
  regard to a truce or other matters.

The government recognized his knack for parleying with tribes, and it sent him all over the West.
--Geoffrey O'Gara, What You See in Clear Water

Whether the Indians came out to parley or, seeing that the fort was about to fall, came out to surrender is unclear.
--Willard Sterne Randall, George Washington: A Life

In case of Servia's non-compliance with the ultimatum the army will invade the kingdom without further parley.
--"Austria Ready to Invade Servia, Sends Ultimatum," New York Times, July 24, 1914

Parley comes from Old French parlée, from parler, "to speak," from Medieval Latin parabolare, from Late Latin parabola, "a proverb, a parable, a similitude," from Greek parabole, "a comparison, a placing beside," from paraballein, "to throw beside, hence to compare," from para-, "beside" + ballein, "to throw."