parliament ,
n :
(government, politics) Meanings relating to a political body authorized to exercise governmental powers. An institution whose elected or appointed members meet to debate the major political issues of the day and usually to exercise legislative powers and sometimes judicial powers. A group of representatives of the people elected or appointed to serve as a parliament (in sense 1 above) for a certain period of time. In this sense the word is commonly used with an ordinal number (for example, first parliament and 12th parliament) or a descriptive adjective (for example, Long Parliament, Short Parliament and Rump Parliament). A flock of owls or rooks. (historical) Parliament cake, a type of gingerbread. Today is Iceland’s national day. Its Althing, founded in 930, is regarded as the oldest parliamentary institution in the world.
