parallel

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpæɹ.əˌlɛl/ (UK); /ˈpæɹ.əˌlɛl/, /ˈpɛɹ.əˌlɛl/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French parallèle or directly borrowed from Latin parallēlus,^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek παράλληλος (parállēlos), from παρ' ἀλλήλοις (par' allḗlois, “beside one another”), from παρά (pará, “beside”) and the plural of ἀλλήλων (allḗlōn, “of one another”), a doubling of ἄλλος (állos, “other”) (see else).^[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of lines, lying side by side at the same distance apart and never meeting: 1549 in Barnhart and the OED,^[2][6] the 1540s in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense, having the same course or tendency, is from about 1600.^[3] The noun, a parallel line, is from 1550–51,^[2][3][5] and a counterpart or equal from 1599, in Ben Jonson's Every Man Out of His Humour,^[2] the 1590s in Etymonline, as is a comparison made by placing things side by side.^[3] The verb, to bring into comparison, is from 1598,^[2] and to match or equal is first recorded in Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well (1601).^[2] Parallels of latitude are from 1634,^[6] parallel bars in gymnastics are from 1868, in Trollope,^[2][3] and connection in parallel in electricity from 1884.^[6] In computing, parallel processing means performing several operations at once.^[7][8]

Timeline

• 1549 – of lines, side by side.^[2][6]
• 1551 – a parallel line.^[2]
• 1598 – the verb, to compare.^[2]
• 1599 – a counterpart.^[2]
• 1868 – parallel bars.^[2][3]
• 1884 – in electricity.^[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Of lines or planes, the same distance apart at every point and never meeting.
2. Similar or corresponding; developing in the same way.
3. (electricity) Connected so that current divides between the components.
4. (computing) Carrying out several operations at the same time.

Noun

1. A parallel line or surface.
2. Something closely similar to another; an analogy or comparison.
3. Any of the imaginary lines of latitude on the Earth.

Verb

1. To be similar or equal to; to match or correspond to.
2. To run parallel to.

Word family

• parallelable
• parallelless
• parallelly
• nonparallel
• parallelistic
• parallelize
• subparallel
• unparallel

Related words

• parallax
• else
• alien
• alter
• allegory
• parallelogram
• parallelism

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins