palaver
/pəˈlɑː.və(ɹ)/noun, verb
palaver is spelled P-A-L-A-V-E-R: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 76,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, palaver means “A village council meeting” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of palaver is palavers.
How many letters and syllables are in palaver?
| Letters | 7: P-A-L-A-V-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 76,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is palaver?
Palaver appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 76,798th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce palaver?
- UK /pəˈlɑː.və(ɹ)/
Palaver has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-palaver.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of palaver
- palavers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- palavering participle, present
- palavered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does palaver mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A village council meeting.
- 2
CanadaUSarchaicTalk, especially unnecessary talk; chatter.
- 3
UKMentally draining activity, either physical or fuss.
What a palaver!
- 4
A meeting at which there is much talk; a debate; a moot.
- 5
informalDisagreement.
I have no palaver with him.
- 6
Talk intended to deceive.
verb
- 1
To discuss with much talk.
- 2
To flatter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Palaver in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does palaver come from?
Originally nautical slang, from Portuguese palavra (“word”)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).