English Explanatory Dictionary

Polari

English dictionary entry

Meanings

name
  1. A cant used in the London fishmarkets, in the British theatre, and by the gay community in Britain, attested since at least the 19th century and popularised in the 1950s and 1960s by the camp characters Julian and Sandy in the popular BBC radio show Round the Horne.
  2. A cant used by travelling showmen in Britain.
verb
  1. To speak or talk, particularly in slang or cant.

Pronunciation

/pəˈlɑːri/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Polari.wav

Word forms

Polari Palare Palari Palarie Parlare Parlary Parlyaree polaris polariing polarying polaried

Etymology

Borrowed from Polari, from Italian parlare (“to talk”). The loss of the first r and the changing vowel quality of the non-stressed vowels is due to the non-rhotic UK accent which reinterpreted the phonemes. The adoption of the infinitive form means that the word probably originated from a Romance-based creole or pidgin like Sabir. First use in English appears c. 1846, in the writings of Lord Chief Baron.

Related words

Parlyaree polari
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