parallel

parallel
—parallelable, adj. —parallelless, adj. —parallelly, adv.
/par"euh lel', -leuhl/, adj., n., v., paralleled, paralleling or (esp. Brit.) parallelled, parallelling.
adj.
1. extending in the same direction, equidistant at all points, and never converging or diverging: parallel rows of trees.
2. having the same direction, course, nature, or tendency; corresponding; similar; analogous: Canada and the U.S. have many parallel economic interests.
3. Geom.
a. (of straight lines) lying in the same plane but never meeting no matter how far extended.
b. (of planes) having common perpendiculars.
c. (of a single line, plane, etc.) equidistant from another or others (usually fol. by to or with).
4. Elect. consisting of or having component parts connected in parallel: a parallel circuit.
5. Music.
a. (of two voice parts) progressing so that the interval between them remains the same.
b. (of a tonality or key) having the same tonic but differing in mode.
6. Computers.
a. of or pertaining to the apparent or actual performance of more than one operation at a time, by the same or different devices (distinguished from serial): Some computer systems join more than one CPU for parallel processing.
b. of or pertaining to the simultaneous transmission or processing of all the parts of a whole, as all the bits of a byte or all the bytes of a computer word (distinguished from serial).
n.
7. a parallel line or plane.
8. anything parallel or comparable in direction, course, nature, or tendency to something else.
9. Also called parallel of latitude. Geog.
a. an imaginary circle on the earth's surface formed by the intersection of a plane parallel to the plane of the equator, bearing east and west and designated in degrees of latitude north or south of the equator along the arc of any meridian.
b. the line representing this circle on a chart or map.
10. something identical or similar in essential respects; match; counterpart: a case history without a known parallel.
11. correspondence or analogy: These two cases have some parallel with each other.
12. a comparison of things as if regarded side by side.
13. Elect. an arrangement of the components, as resistances, of a circuit in such a way that all positive terminals are connected to one point and all negative terminals are connected to a second point, the same voltage being applied to each component. Cf. series (def. 9).
14. Fort. a trench cut in the ground before a fortress, parallel to its defenses, for the purpose of covering a besieging force.
15. Print. a pair of vertical parallel lines (||) used as a mark for reference.
16. Theat. a trestle for supporting a platform (parallel top).
v.t.
17. to provide or show a parallel for; match.
18. to go or be in a parallel course, direction, etc., to: The road parallels the river.
19. to form a parallel to; be equivalent to; equal.
20. to show the identity or similarity of; compare.
21. to make parallel.
[1540-50; < L parallelus < Gk parállelos side by side, equiv. to par- PAR- + állelos one another; see ALLO-, ELSE]
Syn. 2. like, alike. 10. equivalent, equal, mate, duplicate, twin, double.
Ant. 2. divergent; unlike; unique. 10. opposite.

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(as used in expressions)

* * *

      imaginary line extending around the Earth parallel to the equator; it is used to indicate latitude. The 38th parallel, for example, has a latitude of 38° N or 38° S. See latitude and longitude.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Parallel — Par al*lel, a. [F. parall[ e]le, L. parallelus, fr. Gr. ?; para beside + ? of one another, fr. ? other, akin to L. alius. See {Alien}.] 1. (Geom.) Extended in the same direction, and in all parts equally distant; as, parallel lines; parallel… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Parallel — may refer to: Mathematics and science * Parallel (geometry) * Parallel (latitude), an imaginary east west line circling a globe Proper name * Parallel (manga), a shōnen manga by Toshihiko Kobayashi * Parallel (video), a video album by R.E.M. *… …   Wikipedia

  • Parallel — Par al*lel, n. 1. A line which, throughout its whole extent, is equidistant from another line; a parallel line, a parallel plane, etc. [1913 Webster] Who made the spider parallels design, Sure as De Moivre, without rule or line ? Pope. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • parallel — [par′ə lel΄, par′ələl] adj. [Fr parallèle < L parallelus < Gr parallēlos < para , side by side (see PARA 1) + allēlos, one another < allos, other: see ELSE] 1. extending in the same direction and at the same distance apart at every… …   English World dictionary

  • parallel — par‧al‧lel [ˈpærəlel] adjective [only before a noun] 1. ECONOMICS COMMERCE parallel goods, imports etc are sold avoiding the distribution channel S (= ways of making goods available to the public) approved by the makers: • Luxury brands …   Financial and business terms

  • parallel# — parallel adj *like, alike, similar, analogous, comparable, akin, uniform, identical Analogous words: *same, identical, equal, equivalent: corresponding, correlative (see RECIPROCAL) parallel n 1 Comparison, contrast, antithesis, collation… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • parallel — ► ADJECTIVE 1) (of lines, planes, or surfaces) side by side and having the same distance continuously between them. 2) occurring or existing at the same time or in a similar way; corresponding: a parallel universe. 3) Computing involving the… …   English terms dictionary

  • Parallel — Par al*lel, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Paralleled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Paralleling}.] 1. To place or set so as to be parallel; to place so as to be parallel to, or to conform in direction with, something else. [1913 Webster] The needle . . . doth… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Parallel 9 — was a British children s television show that broadcast from 1992 to 1994. It aired on BBC1 on Saturday mornings, thereby occupying the time slot that was at other times held by programmes such as Going Live! .The premise of the show focused on… …   Wikipedia

  • parallel — Adj std. (16. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus l. parallēlos, parallēlus, dieses aus gr. parállēlos nebeneinander , zu gr. allḗlōn einander und gr. para . Abstraktum: Parallele.    Ebenso nndl. parallel, ne. parallel, nfrz. parallèl, nschw. parallel …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Parallel I/O — Parallel I/O, in the context of a computer, means the performance of multiple I/O operations at the same time. It is a common feature of operating systems.One particular instance is parallel writing of data to disk; when file data is sperad… …   Wikipedia

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