In a sci-fi movie from 1957, an astronaut says he's "going to palaver" with the cave-dwelling natives. I'd never heard the word before, but my husband—a history buff—knew it by its original meaning: a conference between a 'civilized' person (or persons) and folks from a more primitive culture. Supposedly, it has disintegrated colloquially to mean something like "meaningless blather" (probably because of the way it sounds) but when I checked that Ngram thingy, it looked as though its main use in writing is in its original sense—ironically, or not.

Now for the question: Has anyone (reading this) ever used or heard someone use "palaver"? In what sense was it used? (And, if so, what part of the planet do you hail from?)

In a sci-fi movie from 1957, an astronaut says he's "going to palaver" with the cave-dwelling natives. I'd never heard the word before, but my husband—a history buff—knew it by its original meaning: a conference between a 'civilized' person (or persons) and folks from a more primitive culture. Supposedly, it has disintegrated colloquially to mean something like "meaningless blather" (probably because of the way it sounds) but when I checked that Ngram thingy, it looked as though its main use in writing is in its original sense—ironically, or not.

Is "palaver" still in use? (If so, in what part of the world is it used?) In what sense is it used?