different between palaver vs kerfuffle

English

Etymology

Originally nautical slang, from Portuguese palavra (“word”), from Late Latin parabola (“parable, speech”). The term's use (especially in Africa) mimics the evolution of the word moot. As such, for sense development, see moot. Doublet of parable, parole, and parabola.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /p??l??.v?(?)/
• Rhymes: -??v?(r)

Noun

palaver (countable and uncountable, plural palavers)

1. (Africa) A village council meeting.
2. Talk, especially unnecessary talk; chatter. [from 18th c.]
   • 1847, Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, chapter III:

     Frances pulled his hair heartily, and then went and seated herself on her husband’s knee, and there they were, like two babies, kissing and talking nonsense by the hour—foolish palaver that we should be ashamed of.

   • 1886, Henry James, The Princess Casamassima.

     These remarks were received with a differing demonstration: some of the company declaring that if the Dutchman cared to come round and smoke a pipe they would be glad to see him—perhaps he'd show where the thumbscrews had been put on; others being strongly of the opinion that they didn't want any more advice—they had already had advice enough to turn a donkey's stomach. What they wanted was to put forth their might without any more palaver; to do something, or for some one; to go out somewhere and smash something, on the spot—why not?—that very night.

   • 1899, Stephen Crane, Active Service:

     Knowing full well the right time and the wrong time for a palaver of regret and disavowal, this battalion struggled in the desperation of despair.

   • 1985, Justin Richards, Option Lock, p 229:

     Not for the first time, he reflected that it was not so much the speeches that strained the nerves as the palaver that went with them.

3. Talk intended to deceive. [from 19th c.]
4. Fuss.

   What a palaver!

5. A meeting at which there is much talk; a debate; a moot.
   • 1851, Thomas Carlyle, The Life of John Sterling

     this country and epoch of parliaments and eloquent palavers

6. (informal) Disagreement.

   I have no palaver with him.

Synonyms

• (unnecessary talk): hot air, janglery; See also Thesaurus:chatter
• (fuss): ado, bother; See also Thesaurus:commotion

Descendants

• ? Danish: palaver
• ? Finnish: palaveri
• ? German: Palaver
• ? Hungarian: paláver

Translations

Verb

palaver (third-person singular simple present palavers, present participle palavering, simple past and past participle palavered)

1. (intransitive) To discuss with much talk.

   Synonyms: jabber, rabbit, yak; see also Thesaurus:prattle

   • 1860, Atlantic Monthly, vol. 5, no. 30 (April),

     “That,” he rejoined, “is a way we Americans have. We cannot stop to palaver. What would become of our manifest destiny?”

2. (transitive) To flatter.

References

• James A. H. Murray [et al.], editors (1884–1928) , “Palaver”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume VII (O–P), London: Clarendon Press, OCLC 15566697, page 390, column 1.

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from English palaver.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /palav?r/, [p?a?l?w??], [p?a?læ?w?]

Noun

palaver c (singular definite palaveren, plural indefinite palavere)

1. palaver

Inflection

English

Alternative forms

• cufuffle, cuffuffle, curfuffle, gefuffle, kafuffle, kerfluff, kerfluffle, kurfuffle
• fuffle (by apheresis)

Etymology

Probably from Scots curfuffle, equivalent to ker- +? fuffle, or related to Irish cior thual (“char athwart: confusion, disorder”). Similar to modern Welsh cythrwfl (“uproar, trouble, agitation”)

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /k??f?f?l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /k??f?f?l/
• Rhymes: -?f?l

Noun

kerfuffle (plural kerfuffles)

1. (chiefly Britain, informal) A disorderly outburst, disturbance, commotion, or tumult. [from 19th c.]

   Synonyms: brouhaha, donnybrook, fracas, hubbub, hullabaloo, mess, racket

   • 2009 May 22, Stuart Heritage, “Jon & Kate Latest: People You Don’t Know Do Crap You Don’t Care About”, Hecklerspray

     You know all this kerfuffle about Jordan and Peter Andre, and how you don’t know if they’re really splitting up or it’s just an act […]

   • 2011 June 6, Mark Memmott, “Sarah Palin's Had Her Say; Now Let's Hear From Paul Revere”, The Two-Way, National Public Radio

     There's been a bit of a kerfuffle the past couple days over something Sarah Palin said about Paul Revere.

Derived terms

• kerfluff
• kerfuffly

Translations

Verb

kerfuffle (third-person singular simple present kerfuffles, present participle kerfuffling, simple past and past participle kerfuffled)

1. (chiefly Britain, informal) To make a disorderly outburst or commotion.