parlour

parlour — noun

1. a small shop, often named after the product or treatment it offers, where custom

1.名詞B2
釋義

a small shop, often named after the product or treatment it offers, where customers go to buy that one thing or have that one kind of grooming or beauty work done.

例句

The new ice-cream parlour on Kingston Road serves twenty homemade flavours.

compound: ice-cream parlour

Maya booked a manicure at the nail parlour next to her office.

compound: nail parlour

同義詞
  • shop

    more general; a parlour usually sells one specialised product or service

  • salon

    preferred for hair and high-end beauty work

  • store

    American and broader; rarely takes the same compound nouns

文法句型

[type] + parlour

parlour for [activity]

用法筆記

Almost always preceded by a noun naming the product or service: ice-cream / beauty / nail / tattoo / funeral / pizza parlour. Standing alone without that noun is rare in this sense.

常見錯誤

I work at a parlour.' (unclear what kind).
I work at a beauty parlour.
💡speakers expect the type-noun in front.
an icecream parlour' (one word).
an ice-cream parlour' / 'an ice cream parlour
💡British style hyphenates or spaces the modifier.

2. an old-fashioned word for a sitting room in someone's home, especially the smart

2.名詞C1
釋義

an old-fashioned word for a sitting room in someone's home, especially the smartest one near the front door, kept clean and ready so that visitors could be welcomed in.

例句

Grandmother polished the piano in the front parlour every Saturday morning.

phrase: front parlour

The vicar was shown into the parlour and offered a cup of tea.

passive welcome: shown into the parlour

同義詞
  • sitting room

    the standard British modern term

  • living room

    neutral and current in both British and American English

  • drawing room

    even grander and more formal than parlour; large houses only

文法句型

in the parlour

the front parlour

用法筆記

Mostly historical or regional. In modern British and American homes, 'living room' or 'sitting room' has replaced it. Often appears with 'front', 'back' or 'best' to mark which room of the house is meant.

常見錯誤

We watched Netflix in the parlour last night.
We watched Netflix in the living room last night.
💡'parlour' sounds dated for everyday modern use.