French word

parole

Pronunciation

IPA/paʁɔl/

Meaning

  • feminine nounwords

Example

Il a dit des paroles encourageantes.

He said some encouraging words.

Illustration for parole (words)

More examples

Je lui ai donné la parole pour qu'il explique son point de vue.

I gave him the floor so that he could explain his point of view.

Core concept

A spoken bundle of words carrying a person's thought, feeling, or message.

Common phrases

  • donner la parole

    give ___ the floor

  • avoir la parole

    have the floor

  • prendre la parole

    take the floor

Similar words

mot: An individual meaningful word.
phrase: Words arranged to form a meaningful sentence or phrase.
propos: A brief statement or opinion given by a speaker.
expression: A word or wording that conveys a feeling or idea.

Definition in French

Mot ou groupe de mots prononcés par une personne pour exprimer une idée, un sentiment ou une information.

Word origin

Parole comes through Old French from Late Latin parabola, from Greek parabolē, and its early sense involved comparison or discourse before referring to spoken words.

Usage tips

  • In ordinary conversation, paroles is commonly plural for what someone says, while mot names a word and phrase names a phrase.

Other meanings

  • remarknoun
  • expressionnoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word