parlance
/ˈpɑɹ.ləns/noun
parlance is spelled P-A-R-L-A-N-C-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, parlance means “A certain way of speaking, of using words; especially that associated with a particular job or interest” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of parlance is parlances.
How many letters and syllables are in parlance?
| Letters | 8: P-A-R-L-A-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,459th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is parlance?
Parlance appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th 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 parlance?
- UK /ˈpɑː.ləns/
- US /ˈpɑɹ.ləns/
Parlance has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-parlance.ogg, En-au-parlance.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of parlance
- parlances plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does parlance mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A certain way of speaking, of using words; especially that associated with a particular job or interest.
- 2
Of a word, the quality of being lexicalized; especially as jargon or slang.
- 3
archaicrareSpeech, discussion or debate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Parlance in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense A certain way of speaking (or using words):
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Ausdrucksweise, Jargon, Redeweise, Redestil, Sprechweise, Diktion |
| Spanish | jerga, sociolecto, lenguaje, habla, fabla (disused), hablado |
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 parlance come from?
From Middle English *parlaunce, from Anglo-Norman parlance, parlaunce, from parler (“to talk”) + -ance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).