parlor

n. a room in a house used for sitting and talking with guests.

n. a reception room in a private residence intended for entertaining visitors.

“The family gathered in the parlor to listen to the radio after dinner.”

“In Victorian architecture, the parlor served as a formal space where the family would receive guests and display their finest possessions.”

Archaic

n. a shop that sells a specific type of product or service.

n. a commercial establishment providing specialized goods or services, often used in specific collocations.

“We stopped at the ice cream parlor for a treat on a hot afternoon.”

“The neighborhood has seen a rise in boutique businesses, including a high-end tattoo parlor and a vintage funeral home.”

n. a special building or room where cows are milked on a farm.

n. a specialized building or area on a dairy farm equipped for the mechanical milking of livestock.

“The farmer led the cows into the milking parlor at five in the morning.”

“Modern dairy operations utilize automated parlors to increase efficiency and maintain high hygiene standards during the extraction process.”

Technical

adj. used to describe someone who talks about ideas but does not take action.

adj. used figuratively to describe a person who advocates for a cause in a comfortable setting without practical involvement.

“He was just a parlor socialist who never actually helped the poor.”

“The critic dismissed the group as parlor revolutionaries, more interested in academic debate than in organizing actual social change.”

Literary