- Today's Word
Palaver
[puh-LAV-er]
Definition
- (noun) Prolonged and idle discussion, chatter, or gossip. It can also mean a conference or discussion, especially one involving tedious or time-consuming talk. In some contexts, it can imply unnecessary fuss or complication.
Example
After hours of palaver about trivial matters, the committee finally got around to discussing the important issues on the agenda.
Fun Fact
The word “palaver” has an interesting journey through languages. It originated from the Portuguese word “palavra” (meaning “word” or “speech”), which came from the Latin “parabola.” It entered English through West African trade languages in the 18th century, where it was used to describe the sometimes lengthy negotiations between European traders and local people.
(adjective) Deliberately untrustworthy and deceitful; guilty of betraying trust or breaking faith.
The perfidious advisor had been leaking confidential strategy to competitors for years, all while accepting promotions and praise from the company he was quietly destroying.
Perfidious derives from the Latin perfidiosus, meaning “treacherous,” rooted in perfidia — “faithlessness” — built from per- (“through” or “away”) and fides (“faith” or “trust”). The same root fides gives us fidelity, confide, and fiduciary — making perfidious the dark twin of an entire family of words built on trust and loyalty. It entered English in the 16th century and has carried its sense of calculated, deliberate betrayal ever since.