# parlor

/ˈpɑɹɫɝ/ (US) · /pˈɑːlɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/parlor
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. a room in a house

noun · CEFR B2 · Archaic

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

For teachers: 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.

Usage: Commonly associated with 19th and early 20th-century domestic life.

### 2. a specialized shop

noun · CEFR B2

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

For teachers: 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.

Usage: Frequently occurs in compound nouns like 'ice cream parlor', 'tattoo parlor', or 'funeral parlor'.

### 3. milking area

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

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

For teachers: 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.

### 4. theoretical or inactive

adjective · CEFR C2 · Literary

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

For teachers: 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.

Teaching tip: This sense is almost always used pejoratively to imply hypocrisy or lack of real-world experience.

## Examples

- We sat in the parlor to drink tea.
- The old Victorian house featured a formal parlor where the family entertained visitors on Sunday afternoons.
- While the domestic parlor has largely been replaced by the modern living room, the term persists in the commercial sector for specialized shops like tattoo studios or funeral homes.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.