Etymologically
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parallel

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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

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