palaver

/pəˈlɑː.və(ɹ)/

//pəˈlɑː.və(ɹ)// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"palaver" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“palaver” is uncommon English (frequency #77,065 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#77,065
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A village council meeting.

Corpus desk

Index EN-palaver · palaver · English

palaver · rank #77,065 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #77,065
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH paling

Nearest frequency peer: paling (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “palaver”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “palaver” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for palaver
PropertyValue
Headwordpalaver
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pəˈlɑː.və(ɹ)/
Letters7
Frequency rank#77,065
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “palaver” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).palaverfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “paling” (#77,066), “parallelogram” (#77,068), “parroting” (#77,069). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “palaver” is #77,065. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

palaver is uncommon English at frequency #77,065 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pəˈlɑː.və(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for palaver in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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… The correct English form is palaver, spelled P-A-L-A-V-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A village council meeting.
  2. 2
    Talk, especially unnecessary talk; chatter.
  3. 3
    Mentally draining activity, either physical or fuss.
  4. 4
    A meeting at which there is much talk; a debate; a moot.
  5. 5
    Disagreement.
  6. 6
    Talk intended to deceive.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how palaver appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Here we remained four days, on account of a palaver which was held on the following occasion.
  2. That night the village warriors held a big palaver to celebrate their victories, and to choose a new chief.

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

parla(Español)palabres(Français)Palaver(Deutsch)palavreado(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "palaver"?
"palaver" is spelled P-A-L-A-V-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈlɑː.və(ɹ)/.
What does "palaver" mean?
As a noun, "palaver" means: A village council meeting.
How do you pronounce "palaver"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "palaver" is /pəˈlɑː.və(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "palaver"?
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, p... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "palaver", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

overdid#77,058operant#77,051Poconos#77,101Navarra#77,026

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list