palaver

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   prolonged and idle talk; a tedious fuss

   After all that palaver, they simply postponed the decision.

Simplified etymology

Palaver comes from Portuguese palavra, “word” or “speech,” which Portuguese traders in West Africa used for talks held with local people. West Africans adopted the term and passed it to English sailors; in English it first meant a prolonged, tedious discussion and later, by the late 19th century, a fuss or commotion. Portuguese palavra ultimately developed from Latin parabola, “parable.”

From Portuguese palavra 'word, speech', from Latin parabola 'comparison, discourse', from Greek parabolē 'comparison'. Adopted by English sailors trading on the African coast, where it denoted a parley with natives.

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