rank, etc.; as, their pretensions are on a par; his ability is on a par with his ambition. — Par of exchange.
See under Exchange. — Par value, nominal value; face value.
Para-
(Par"a-) [Gr. para` beside; prob. akin to E. for- in forgive. Cf. For-.]
1. A prefix signifying alongside of, beside, beyond, against, amiss; as parable, literally, a placing
beside; paradox, that which is contrary to opinion; parachronism.
2. (Chem.) A prefix denoting: (a) Likeness, similarity, or connection, or that the substance resembles,
but is distinct from, that to the name of which it is prefixed; as paraldehyde, paraconine, etc.; also, an
isomeric modification. (b) Specifically: (Organ. Chem.) That two groups or radicals substituted in the
benzene nucleus are opposite, or in the respective positions 1 and 4; 2 and 5; or 3 and 6, as paraxylene;
paroxybenzoic acid. Cf. Ortho-, and Meta-. Also used adjectively.
Para
(||Pa*ra") n. [Turk., fr. Per. parah a piece.] A piece of Turkish money, usually copper, the fortieth
part of a piaster, or about one ninth of a cent.
Parabanic
(Par`a*ban"ic) a. [Gr. to pass over.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, a nitrogenous
acid which is obtained by the oxidation of uric acid, as a white crystalline substance (C3N2H2O3); —
also called oxalyl urea.
Parablast
(Par"a*blast) n. [Cf. Gr. to grow beside. See Para-, and -blast.] (Biol.) A portion of the
mesoblast (of peripheral origin) of the developing embryo, the cells of which are especially concerned
in forming the first blood and blood vessels. C. S. Minot.
Parablastic
(Par`a*blas"tic) a. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to the parablast; as, the parablastic cells.
Parable
(Par"a*ble) a. [L. parabilis, fr. parare to provide.] Procurable. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
Parable
(Par"a*ble), n. [F. parabole, L. parabola, fr. Gr. a placing beside or together, a comparing,
comparison, a parable, fr. to throw beside, compare; para` beside + to throw; cf. Skr. gal to drop. Cf.
Emblem, Gland, Palaver, Parabola, Parley, Parabole, Symbol.] A comparison; a similitude; specifically,
a short fictitious narrative of something which might really occur in life or nature, by means of which a
moral is drawn; as, the parables of Christ. Chaucer.
Declare unto us the parable of the tares.
Matt. xiii. 36. Syn. — See Allegory, and Note under Apologue.
Parable
(Par"a*ble), v. t. To represent by parable. [R.]
Which by the ancient sages was thus parabled.
Milton. Parabola
(Pa*rab"o*la) n.; pl. Parabolas [NL., fr. Gr. — so called because its axis is parallel to the
side of the cone. See Parable, and cf. Parabole.] (Geom.) (a) A kind of curve; one of the conic
sections formed by the intersection of the surface of a cone with a plane parallel to one of its sides. It
is a curve, any point of which is equally distant from a fixed point, called the focus, and a fixed straight
line, called the directrix. See Focus. (b) One of a group of curves defined by the equation y = axn
where n is a positive whole number or a positive fraction. For the cubical parabola n = 3; for the semicubical
parabola n = &frac32. See under Cubical, and Semicubical. The parabolas have infinite branches, but
no rectilineal asymptotes.
Parabole
(||Pa*rab"o*le) n. [L., fr. Gr. . See Parable.] (Rhet.) Similitude; comparison.
Parabolic
(Par`a*bol"ic Par`a*bol"ic*al) a. [Gr. paraboliko`s figurative: cf. F. parabolique. See Parable.]
