Par"lia*ment (?), n.
[OE. parlement, F. parlement, fr.
parler to speak; cf. LL.
parlamentum, parliamentum. See Parley.]
1. A parleying; a discussion; a conference. [Obs.]
But first they held their parliament.
Rom. of R. 2.
A formal conference on public affairs; a general council; esp., an assembly of representatives of a nation or people having authority to make laws.
They made request that it might be lawful for them to summon a parliament of
Gauls.
Golding. 3. The assembly of the three
estates of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, viz., the lords spiritual, lords temporal, and the representatives of the commons, sitting in the House of
Lords and the House of Commons, constituting the legislature, when summoned
by the royal authority to consult on
the affairs of the nation, and to enact
and repeal laws.
&fist; Thought the sovereign is a constituting branch of Parliament, the word is generally used to denote the three estates named above.
4. In France, before the Revolution of 1789, one of the several principal judicial courts.
Parliament heel, the inclination of a ship when made to
careen by shifting her cargo or ballast. -- Parliament hinge (Arch.), a hinge with so
great a projection from the wall or frame as to allow a door
or shutter to swing back
flat against the wall. -- Long Parliament, Rump Parliament. See under Long, and Rump.
Hear it pronounced