Parlors

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A place dedicated to providing specific services like beauty treatments, or where friends gather for conversation and entertainment, often located in a commercial or residential setting
2. An establishment that caters to particular services, such as grooming, alongside spaces designed for social interaction or leisure activities
3. A commercial venue where specialized personal services are provided ; a room in a home or other building designed for social visits and leisure

Etymology: "Parlors" is the American spelling of the plural of "parlor," a word that once meant simply a place for talking. It comes from Old French "parleor" and "parloir," built on the verb "parler," meaning "to speak." Medieval Latin had a parallel form, "parlātōrium," for a room set aside for conversation, and English took the word in during the Middle Ages, when it described a room in a monastery or large house where people gathered to talk. The modern sense of a shop for beauty treatments grew out of the later meaning of a room for guests or customers to be received, so a hairdresser's "parlor" is a descendant of the old reception room. English once had a native word for the same idea, "sprǣchūs," but the French term pushed it out. Parloir survives in English as a doublet, a separate borrowing from the same root.

Synonyms: salons, rooms, lounges, sitting rooms, reception areas