parleyvoo

English

Etymology

From French parlez-vous.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌpɑː.liˈvuː/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌpɑɹ.liˈvu/

Noun

parleyvoo (countable and uncountable, plural parleyvoos)

1. The French language, especially as understood by an English person. [from 18th c.]
   • 1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

     Lynch. Let him alone. He's back from Paris […] Zoe. O go on! Give us some parleyvoo.

2. (countable, now rare) A French person. [from 18th c.]
   • 1789, John Moore, Zeluco, Valancourt, published 2008, page 276:

     [O]ne of these d—d Parlivoos will go farther with some women in a day, than an Englishman in a month—all owing to their impudence; for a common man has as much impudence in France as a man-midwife has in England.

   • 1887, Gilbert and Sullivan, “Ruddigore”, in Delphi Complete Works of Gilbert and Sullivan (Illustrated), published 2017, →ISBN:

     We were hardy British tars who had pity on a poor Parley-voo

Verb

parleyvoo (third-person singular simple present parleyvoos, present participle parleyvooing, simple past and past participle parleyvooed)

1. (intransitive, dated, humorous) To speak a foreign language, especially French.