# parliament

Pronunciation: US say "PAR-luh-muhnt" /ˈpɑɹləmənt/; say "PAH-luh-muhnt" UK /ˈpɑːləmənt/, AUS /ˈpɐːləmənt/

## Noun

1. The lawmaking assembly of a government, whose elected or appointed members debate issues, pass and repeal laws, and authorize public spending.
   - Simple: The part of a country's government that makes and changes the laws.
   - _In a democracy, parliament holds the power to make and repeal laws._
   - _The finance minister asked parliament to approve next year's spending._
2. A legislature's members as assembled for one particular term or purpose, often identified by an ordinal number or a descriptive name.
   - Simple: The group of lawmakers who meet for one set period of time, often given a number or a name.
   - _The twelfth parliament was dissolved early after the government lost a confidence vote._
   - _Historians often contrast the Short Parliament with the Long Parliament that followed it._
3. A gathering of birds, especially rooks or owls, considered together as a single group.
   - Simple: A group of birds gathered together, especially owls or rooks.
   - _A parliament of owls had taken up residence in the ruined bell tower._
   - _At dawn, a parliament of rooks rose together from the bare branches._
4. A formal council summoned, especially by a monarch, to discuss important matters of state. *(historical)*
   - Simple: Long ago, a formal meeting, often called by a king or queen, to talk about important matters.
   - _The king summoned a parliament to secure funds for the campaign in France._
   - _Barons gathered at the parliament to press their grievances before the crown._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A type of gingerbread, traditionally thin and crisp, also known as parliament cake.

## Origin

From Middle English parlement, via Anglo-Norman and Old French parlement ("discussion, meeting, assembly, council"), formed from parler ("to speak") plus the noun-forming suffix -ment. Compare Medieval Latin parlamentum and Italian parlamento.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/parliament (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).