Parlous, Perilous...

[David Morris]

Let's call the whole thing off?

A NYT editorial [
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/world/asia/chinese-annoyance-with-north-korea-bubbles-to-the-surface.html
] this weekend used this phrase:

"....The parlous state of the relationship between North Korea and China
was on display again Wednesday when Pyongyang commemorated the third
anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-il, the father of the current leader,
Kim Jong-un, and failed to invite a senior Chinese official."

I'm not familiar with "parlous."  Is it reall just the same word, different
spelling, as "perilous?"
David Morris
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