What does "parlance" mean?

A certain way of speaking, of using words; especially that associated with a particular job or interest.

What is a synonym for "parlance"?

Common synonyms include: jargon, speech, choice of words, composition, conversation, dialect.

//ˈpɑɹ.ləns// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A certain way of speaking, of using words; especially that associated with a particular job or interest. countable, uncountable
"To my childish fancy, it had seemed an imaginary flag-staff, or, in rustic parlance, the "liberty pole" of some former generation […]"
2
a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language wordnet
3
Of a word, the quality of being lexicalized; especially as jargon or slang. countable, uncountable
"Its use at a variety of levels, including the individual and organisational level, make it a varied term that has parlance in organisational development, performance management and talent management."
4
Speech, discussion or debate. archaic, countable, rare, uncountable
"And without further parlance they fought, […]"

"A "renovator's dream" in real estate parlance generally means that the place is a real dump."

From Middle English *parlaunce, from Anglo-Norman parlance, parlaunce, from parler (“to talk”) + -ance.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.