Is the word "palaver" in common use anywhere in the English-speaking world?

Solution 1:

This is basically lifted from the German Wikipedia entry -- the term is not that uncommon in German, though with negative connotations.

The word has its origins in Greek (παραβολή), and from there was adapted by Latin (parabola), Portuguese (palavra), and eventually, English.

The general meaning is "idle talk".

In many African cultures, this is considered good manners -- you get to know the other person before you start talking about the subject that really got you together.

The meaning your husband associated with the term is probably the way the Portuguese used it when trading with African people. I doubt the African people considering it good manners to this day would agree with his interpretation that it's a talk between a civilized and a savage, though.

• The African palaver tradition and the western postmodern consensus: convergences and divergences
• Etymonline

Solution 2:

Yes, I use it and so do many people that I know.

Nowadays it usually comes in the idiom A bit of a palaver, which refers to an argument. Usually an argument involving more than two people.

I suspect that nowadays its use amongst younger people is dying out but it is used by my fellow Britons in our decrepitude.

Solution 3:

This is a very commonly used word in the West of Scotland (Glasgow etc.). We use to mean a disturbance - usually about something inconsequential. So you might say, "there was a big palaver on the bus when the inspector came on and some guy couldn't find his ticket".

It is marginally colloquial (I don't think a police officer would use it in court, "we were summoned to a palaver in Sauchihall St." - no...). Scottish colloquial synonyms would be stushie or stramash. In England, maybe to-do or carry-on.

Solution 4:

Palaver is mildly pejorative. It's often used to mean idle chat that's leading nowhere, too much talk and not enough action; sometimes it refers to talk that is intended to distract attention from the issue at hand.

I hear it used now and then, as a noun.

The ngram.

Here's my planetary location on the Dictionary of American Regional English map (they don't draw too good):