Parillin Pa·ril"lin noun [ Shortened from sarsaparillin .] (Chemistry) A glucoside resembling saponin, found in the root of sarsaparilla, smilax, etc., and extracted as a bitter white crystalline substance; -- called also smilacin , sarsaparilla saponin , and sarsaparillin .

Paring Par"ing noun [ From Pare , transitive verb ] 1. The act of cutting off the surface or extremites of anything.

2. That which is pared off. Pope.

Pare off the surface of the earth, and with the parings raise your hills.

Mortimer.

Paripinnate Par`i·pin"nate adjective [ Pari- + pinnate .] (Botany) Pinnate with an equal number of leaflets on each side; having no odd leaflet at the end.

Paris Par"is noun [ From Paris , the son of Priam.] (Botany) A plant common in Europe ( Paris quadrifolia ); herb Paris; truelove. It has been used as a narcotic.

» It much resembles the American genus Trillium , but has usually four leaves and a tetramerous flower.

Paris Par"is noun The chief city of France.

Paris green . See under Green , noun -- Paris white (Chemistry) , purified chalk used as a pigment; whiting; Spanish white.

Parish Par"ish noun [ Middle English parishe , paresche , parosche , Old French paroisse , parosse , paroiche , French paroisse , Latin parochia , corrupted from paroecia , Greek ..., from ... dwelling beside or near; para` beside + ... a house, dwelling; akin to Latin vicus village. See Vicinity , and confer Parochial .]

1. (Eccl. & Eng. Law) (a) That circuit of ground committed to the charge of one parson or vicar, or other minister having cure of souls therein. Cowell. (b) The same district, constituting a civil jurisdiction, with its own officers and regulations, as respects the poor, taxes, etc.

» Populous and extensive parishes are now divided, under various parliamentary acts, into smaller ecclesiastical districts for spiritual purposes. Mozley & W.

2. An ecclesiastical society, usually not bounded by territorial limits, but composed of those persons who choose to unite under the charge of a particular priest, clergyman, or minister; also, loosely, the territory in which the members of a congregation live. [ U. S.]

3. In Louisiana, a civil division corresponding to a county in other States.

Parish Par"ish adjective Of or pertaining to a parish; parochial; as, a parish church; parish records; a parish priest; maintained by the parish; as, parish poor. Dryden.

Parish clerk . (a) The clerk or recording officer of a parish . (b) A layman who leads in the responses and otherwise assists in the service of the Church of England. -- Parish court , in Louisiana, a court in each parish.

Parishen Par"ish·en noun A parishioner. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Parishional Pa·rish"ion·al adjective Of or pertaining to a parish; parochial. [ R.] Bp. Hall.

Parishioner Pa·rish"ion·er noun [ French paroissien , Late Latin parochianus .] One who belongs to, or is connected with, a parish.

Parisian Pa·ri"sian noun [ Confer French parisen .] A native or inhabitant of Paris, the capital of France.

Parisian Pa·ri"sian adjective Of or pertaining to Paris.

Parisienne Pa`ri`si`enne" noun [ French] A female native or resident of Paris.

Parisology Par`i·sol"o·gy noun [ Greek ... almost equal, evenly balanced + -logy .] The use of equivocal or ambiguous words. [ R.]

Parisyllabic, Parisyllabical Par`i·syl·lab"ic, Par`i·syl·lab"ic·al adjective [ Pari- + syllabic , -ical : confer French parisyllabique .] Having the same number of syllables in all its inflections.

Paritor Par"i·tor noun [ Abbrev. from apparitor : confer Latin paritor a servant, attendant.] An apparitor. "Summoned by an host of paritors ." Dryden.

Paritory Par"i·to·ry noun Pellitory. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Parity Par"i·ty noun [ Latin paritas , from par , paris , equal: confer French parité . See Pair , Peer an equal.] The quality or condition of being equal or equivalent; A like state or degree; equality; close correspondence; analogy; as, parity of reasoning. "No parity of principle." De Quincey.

Equality of length and parity of numeration.

Sir T. Browne.

Park Park noun [ Anglo-Saxon pearroc , or perhaps rather from French parc ; both being of the same origin; confer Late Latin parcus , parricus , Ir. & Gael. pairc , W. park , parwg . Confer Paddock an inclosure, Parrock .] 1. (Eng. Law) A piece of ground inclosed, and stored with beasts of the chase, which a man may have by prescription, or the king's grant. Mozley & W.

2. A tract of ground kept in its natural state, about or adjacent to a residence, as for the preservation of game, for walking, riding, or the like. Chaucer.

While in the park I sing, the listening deer
Attend my passion, and forget to fear.

Waller.

3. A piece of ground, in or near a city or town, inclosed and kept for ornament and recreation; as, Hyde Park in London; Central Park in New York.

4. (Mil.) A space occupied by the animals, wagons, pontoons, and materials of all kinds, as ammunition, ordnance stores, hospital stores, provisions, etc., when brought together; also, the objects themselves; as, a park of wagons; a park of artillery.

5. A partially inclosed basin in which oysters are grown. [ Written also parc .]

Park of artillery . See under Artillery . -- Park phaeton , a small, low carriage, for use in parks.

Park Park transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Parked ; present participle & verbal noun Parking .] 1. To inclose in a park, or as in a park.

How are we parked , and bounded in a pale.

Shak.

2. (Mil.) To bring together in a park, or compact body; as, to park the artillery, the wagons, etc.

Park Park noun Any place where vehicles are assembled according to a definite arrangement; also, the vehicles.

Park Park transitive verb 1. To bring together in a park, or compact body; as, to park artillery, wagons, automobiles, etc.

2. In oyster culture, to inclose in a park.

Park Park intransitive verb To promenade or drive in a park; also, of horses, to display style or gait on a park drive.

Parka, Parkee Par"ka, Par"kee noun [ Russian parka , parki , dim. of para a pair, from German paar , Latin par . Confer Pair .] An outer garment made of the skins of birds or mammals, worn by Eskimos, etc.

Parker Park"er noun The keeper of a park. Sir M. Hale.

Parkeria Par·ke"ri·a noun [ New Latin So named from W. K. Parker , a British zoölogist.] (Zoology) A genus of large arenaceous fossil Foraminifera found in the Cretaceous rocks. The species are globular, or nearly so, and are of all sizes up to that of a tennis ball.

Parkesine Parkes"ine noun [ So called from Mr. Parkes , the inventor.] A compound, originally made from gun cotton and castor oil, but later from different materials, and used as a substitute for vulcanized India rubber and for ivory; -- called also xylotile .

Parkleaves Park"leaves` noun (Botany) A European species of Saint John's-wort; the tutsan. See Tutsan .

Parlance Par"lance noun [ Old French , from French parler to speak. See Parley .] Conversation; discourse; talk; diction; phrase; as, in legal parlance ; in common parlance .

A hate of gossip parlance and of sway.

Tennyson.

Parlando Par·lan"do Par*lan"te adjective & adverb [ Italian ] (Mus.) Speaking; in a speaking or declamatory manner; to be sung or played in the style of a recitative.

Parle Parle intransitive verb [ French parler . See Parley .] To talk; to converse; to parley. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Finding himself too weak, began to parle .

Milton.

Parle Parle noun Conversation; talk; parley. [ Obsolete]

They ended parle , and both addressed for fight.

Milton.

Parley Par"ley noun ; plural Parleys . [ French parler speech, talk, from parler to speak, Late Latin parabolare , from Latin parabola a comparison, parable, in Late Latin , a word. See Parable , and confer Parliament , Parlor .] Mutual discourse or conversation; discussion; hence, an oral conference with an enemy, as with regard to a truce.

We yield on parley , but are stormed in vain.

Dryden.

To beat a parley (Mil.) , to beat a drum, or sound a trumpet, as a signal for holding a conference with the enemy.

Parley Par"ley intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Parleyed ; present participle & verbal noun Parleying .] To speak with another; to confer on some point of mutual concern; to discuss orally; hence, specifically, to confer orally with an enemy; to treat with him by words, as on an exchange of prisoners, an armistice, or terms of peace.

They are at hand,
To parley or to fight; therefore prepare.

Shak.

Parliament Par"lia·ment noun [ Middle English parlement , French parlement , from parler to speak; confer Late Latin parlamentum , parliamentum . See Parley .] 1. A parleying; a discussion; a conference. [ Obsolete]

But first they held their parliament .

Rom. of R.

2. A formal conference on public affairs; a general council; esp., an assembly of representatives of a nation or people having authority to make laws.

They made request that it might be lawful for them to summon a parliament of Gauls.

Golding.

3. The assembly of the three estates of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, viz., the lords spiritual, lords temporal, and the representatives of the commons, sitting in the House of Lords and the House of Commons, constituting the legislature, when summoned by the royal authority to consult on the affairs of the nation, and to enact and repeal laws.

» Thought the sovereign is a constituting branch of Parliament, the word is generally used to denote the three estates named above.

4. In France, before the Revolution of 1789, one of the several principal judicial courts.

Parliament heel , the inclination of a ship when made to careen by shifting her cargo or ballast. -- Parliament hinge (Architecture) , a hinge with so great a projection from the wall or frame as to allow a door or shutter to swing back flat against the wall. -- Long Parliament , Rump Parliament . See under Long , and Rump .

Parliamental Par`lia·men"tal adjective Parliamentary. [ Obsolete]

Parliamentarian Par`lia·men·ta"ri·an adjective Of or pertaining to Parliament. Wood.

Parliamentarian Par`lia·men·ta"ri·an noun 1. (Eng. Hist.) One who adhered to the Parliament, in opposition to King Charles I. Walpole.

2. One versed in the rules and usages of Parliament or similar deliberative assemblies; as, an accomplished parliamentarian .

Parliamentarily Par`lia·men"ta·ri·ly adverb In a parliamentary manner.

Parliamentary Par`lia·men"ta·ry adjective [ Confer French parlementaire .]

1. Of or pertaining to Parliament; as, parliamentary authority. Bacon.

2. Enacted or done by Parliament; as, a parliamentary act. Sir M. Hale.

3. According to the rules and usages of Parliament or of deliberative bodies; as, a parliamentary motion.

Parliamentary agent , a person, usually a solicitor, professionally employed by private parties to explain and recommend claims, bills, etc., under consideration of Parliament. [ Eng.] -- Parliamentary train , one of the trains which, by act of Parliament, railway companies are required to run for the conveyance of third-class passengers at a reduced rate. [ Eng.]

Parlor Par"lor noun [ Middle English parlour , parlur , French parloir , Late Latin parlatorium . See Parley .] [ Written also parlour .] A room for business or social conversation, for the reception of guests, etc. Specifically: (a) The apartment in a monastery or nunnery where the inmates are permitted to meet and converse with each other, or with visitors and friends from without. Piers Plowman. (b) In large private houses, a sitting room for the family and for familiar guests, -- a room for less formal uses than the drawing-room. Esp., in modern times, the dining room of a house having few apartments, as a London house, where the dining parlor is usually on the ground floor. (c) Commonly, in the United States, a drawing- room, or the room where visitors are received and entertained.

» "In England people who have a drawing-room no longer call it a parlor , as they called it of old and till recently." Fitzed. Hall.

Parlor car . See Palace car , under Car .

Parlor match Par"lor match` A friction match that contains little or no sulphur.

Parlous Par"lous adjective [ For perlous , a contr. from perilous .] 1. Attended with peril; dangerous; as, a parlous cough. [ Archaic] "A parlous snuffing." Beau. & Fl.

2. Venturesome; bold; mischievous; keen. [ Obsolete] "A parlous boy." Shak. "A parlous wit." Dryden. -- Par"lous*ly , adverb [ Obsolete] -- Par"lous*ness , noun [ Obsolete]

Parmesan Par`me·san" adjective [ French parmesan , Italian parmigiano .] Of or pertaining to Parma in Italy.

Parmesan cheese , a kind of cheese of a rich flavor, though from skimmed milk, made in Parma, Italy.

Parnassia Par·nas"si·a noun [ New Latin ] (Botany) A genus of herbs growing in wet places, and having white flowers; grass of Parnassus.

Parnassian Par·nas"sian adjective [ Latin Parnassius .] Of or pertaining to Parnassus.

Parnassian Par·nas"sian noun [ See Parnassus .] (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of butterflies belonging to the genus Parnassius . They inhabit the mountains, both in the Old World and in America.

Parnassian Par·nas"sian noun [ French parnassien .] One of a school of French poets of the Second Empire (1852-70) who emphasized metrical form and made the little use of emotion as poetic material; -- so called from the name ( Parnasse contemporain ) of the volume in which their first poems were collected in 1866.

Parnassien Par`nas`si`en" noun [ French] Same as Parnassian .

Parnassus Par·nas"sus noun [ Latin , from Greek ....] (Anc. Geology & Greek Myth.) A mountain in Greece, sacred to Apollo and the Muses, and famous for a temple of Apollo and for the Castalian spring.

Grass of Parnassus . (Botany) See under Grass , and Parnassia . -- To climb Parnassus , to write poetry. [ Colloq.]

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
You are here: Webster > Letter P > Page 24 of 206.
« Previous ¦16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 ¦ Next »