parley
/ˈpɑɹli/noun, verb
parley is spelled P-A-R-L-E-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “parlay vs parley” about 90 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, parley means “A conference, especially one between enemies” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of parley is parleys.
How many letters and syllables are in parley?
| Letters | 6: P-A-R-L-E-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 46,473rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is parley?
Parley appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd 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 parley?
- UK /ˈpɑːli/
- US /ˈpɑɹli/
- /ˈpaɾle/
Parley 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-parley.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with parley
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: parlay.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with parley?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as parley from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹli/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: player, replay, pearly.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of parley
- parleys plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- parleying participle, present
- parleyed participle, past
- parlay
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does parley mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A conference, especially one between enemies.
verb
- 1
To have a discussion, especially one between enemies.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Parley in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pourparlers |
| German | Unterredung, Verhandlungsgespräch |
| Spanish | conversación, coloquio, parlamento , parlamentar, negociar |
| Portuguese | parlamentar |
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 parley come from?
From Middle English parlai (“speech, parley”), from Old French parler (“to talk; to speak”), from Late Latin parabolō, from Latin parabola (“comparison”), from Ancient Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ), from παρά (pará, “beside”) with βολή (bolḗ, “throwing”). Doublet of palaver.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).