1. A room in a private home set apart for the entertainment of visitors.
2. A small lounge or sitting room affording limited privacy, as at an inn or tavern.
3. A room equipped and furnished for a special function or business: a tanning parlor.

[Middle English parlur, from Old French, from parler, to talk. See parley.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.