All 6 Uses of

parliament

in

Common Sense, by Thomas Paine

As a long and violent abuse of power, is generally the Means of calling the right of it in question (and in Matters too which might never have been thought of, had not the Sufferers been aggravated into the inquiry) and as the King of England hath undertaken in his OWN RIGHT, to support the Parliament in what he calls THEIRS, and as the good people of this country are grievously oppressed by the combination, they have an undoubted privilege to inquire into the pretensions of both, and equally to reject the usurpation of either.†
Chpt Intr

parliament = legislative assembly that passes laws (existing in some countries)

In this first parliament every man, by natural right, will have a seat.†
Chpt 1. *

Individuals are undoubtedly safer in England than in some other countries, but the WILL of the king is as much the LAW of the land in Britain as in France, with this difference, that instead of proceeding directly from his mouth, it is handed to the people under the more formidable shape of an act of parliament.†
Chpt 1.

It has lately been asserted in parliament, that the colonies have no relation to each other but through the parent country, i. e. that Pennsylvania and the Jerseys, and so on for the rest, are sister colonies by the way of England; this is certainly a very round-about way of proving relationship, but it is the nearest and only true way of proving enemyship, if I may so call it.†
Chpt 3.

Another parliament, nay, even the present, may hereafter repeal the obligation, on the pretense, of its being violently obtained, or unwisely granted; and in that case, Where is our redress?†
Chpt Appe

Definitions:

(1) (parliament with a lowercase "p")
a legislative assembly in certain countries (that can pass laws)
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
As a proper noun, you need to look at the context to determine the parliament to which Parliament is referring. For example, it could be the British Parliament, the European Union Parliament, the French Parliament, etc.