Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “parlous” come from?

Parlous derives from Middle English perlous, a variant of perilous meaning dangerous or precarious.

parlous (English): Attended with peril; dangerous, risky; Appalling,...

Definitions

  1. Attended with peril; dangerous, risky; Appalling,...

Ancestry of “parlous”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishparles—
2Middle EnglishperilousFull of danger or peril; dangerous, harmful,...
3Old Frenchperilleusperilous; very dangerous
4Latinpericulosusdangerous, hazardous, perilous
5Latin-ōsus—
6Old Latin-ōssus—

Words derived from “parlous”

  • parlously
  • parlousness
Every word from Old Latin -ōssus →