parallel

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: paral·lel

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology[edit]

From Middle French parallèle, borrowed from Latin parallelus.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

parallel (not comparable)

  1. Equally distant from one another at all points.
    The horizontal lines on my notebook paper are parallel.
  2. Having the same overall direction; the comparison is indicated with "to".
    The two railway lines are parallel.
  3. (hyperbolic geometry, said of a pair of lines) Either not intersecting, or coinciding.[1]
    Antonyms: perpendicular, skew
  4. (computing) Involving the processing of multiple tasks at the same time.
    Antonyms: serial, sequential
    Coordinate term: concurrent
    a parallel algorithm
  5. (figuratively) Analogous, similar, comparable.
    the parallel lives of two citizens
  6. (science fiction, of realities, dimensions, timelines, etc.) Coexisting but normally not interacting with the regular reality.
    parallel universe

Antonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Adverb[edit]

parallel (comparative more parallel, superlative most parallel)

  1. With a parallel relationship.
    The road runs parallel to the canal.

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

parallel (plural parallels)

  1. One of a set of parallel lines.
  2. Direction conformable to that of another line.
    • 1699, Samuel Garth, The Dispensary:
      lines that from their parallel decline
  3. (geography) A line of latitude.
    The 31st parallel passes through the center of my town.
  4. An arrangement of electrical components such that a current flows along two or more paths; see in parallel.
  5. Something identical or similar in essential respects.
  6. A comparison made; elaborate tracing of similarity.
    Johnson's parallel between Dryden and Pope
  7. (military) One of a series of long trenches constructed before a besieged fortress, by the besieging force, as a cover for troops supporting the attacking batteries. They are roughly parallel to the line of outer defenses of the fortress.
  8. (printing) A character consisting of two parallel vertical lines, used in the text to direct attention to a similarly marked note in the margin or at the foot of a page.

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

parallel (third-person singular simple present parallels, present participle paralleling or (UK, nonstandard) parallelling, simple past and past participle paralleled or (UK, nonstandard) parallelled)

  1. To construct or place something parallel to something else.
  2. Of a path etc: To be parallel to something else.
    • 1931, H. P. Lovecraft, chapter 6, in The Whisperer in Darkness:
      Archaic covered bridges lingered fearsomely out of the past in pockets of the hills, and the half-abandoned railway track paralleling the river seemed to exhale a nebulously visible air of desolation.
    • 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 66:
      Racing on, we parallel the M5 doing 95mph, according to the app on my smartphone.
  3. Of a process etc: To be analogous to something else.
  4. To compare or liken something to something else.
    • 1984 April 14, Reginald Shepherd, “White Men's Black Men”, in Gay Community News, page 11:
      Although its spokesmen do not hesitate to parallel their oppression to that of blacks, the gay male community has chosen to ignore the voices of black gay men.
    • 2018, Nicole Seymour, Bad Environmentalism, page 119:
      These scholars argue that gender and sexual identity are like nature and the environment; they parallel the queer/performance connection to the environmental/performance connection. I consider, instead, how all these categories actively interact and overlap.
  5. To make to conform to something else in character, motive, aim, etc.
  6. To equal; to match; to correspond to.
  7. To produce or adduce as a parallel.

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Danish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Via Latin parallēlus from Ancient Greek παράλληλος (parállēlos, side-by-side), from παρά (pará, by) +‎ ἀλλήλοις (allḗlois, each other)

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

parallel (neuter parallelt, plural and definite singular attributive parallelle)

  1. (geometry) parallel (equally distant at all points)
  2. parallel (equivalent)

Noun[edit]

parallel c (singular definite parallellen, plural indefinite paralleller)

  1. parallel (a similar case)
  2. parallel (comparison)
  3. (geometry, rare) parallel (a parallel line)

Declension[edit]

References[edit]

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin parallēlus (perhaps via French parallèle), which in turn derives from Ancient Greek παράλληλος (parállēlos).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

parallel f or m (plural parallellen, diminutive parallelletje n)

  1. parallel (all senses)

Adjective[edit]

parallel (not comparable)

  1. parallel
    Synonym: evenwijdig

Inflection[edit]

Inflection of parallel
uninflected parallel
inflected parallelle
comparative
positive
predicative/adverbial parallel
indefinite m./f. sing. parallelle
n. sing. parallel
plural parallelle
definite parallelle
partitive parallels

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • Papiamentu: paralèl

German[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin parallēlus, parallēlos, from Ancient Greek παράλληλος (parállēlos).

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

parallel (strong nominative masculine singular paralleler, not comparable)

  1. parallel
    Die Linien meines Schreibpapiers laufen exakt parallel.(please add an English translation of this usage example)
    Die eine Bahnschiene verläuft auch in der Kurve stets parallel zur anderen.(please add an English translation of this usage example)
  2. serving the same purpose, leading to the same result
    Die Autobahn verläuft parallel zur Eisenbahn aber in ganz unterschiedlichen Biegungen und Kurven.(please add an English translation of this usage example)
    Die Eheleute hatten nichts verabredet, so haben sie parallel (zueinander) eingekauft.(please add an English translation of this usage example)

Declension[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • parallel” in Duden online
  • parallel” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache