Pronunciation: p ə - ' ren(t)-th ə -s ə s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -the · ses \ - ˌ s ē z \
Etymology: Late Latin, from Greek, literally, act of inserting, from parentithenai to insert, from para- + en- en- + tithenai to place ― more at DO
Date: circa 1550
1 a : an amplifying or explanatory word, phrase, or sentence inserted in a passage from which it is usually set off by punctuation b : a remark or passage that departs from the theme of a discourse : DIGRESSION
2 : INTERLUDE , INTERVAL
3 : one or both of the curved marks ( ) used in writing and printing to enclose a parenthetical expression or to group a symbolic unit in a logical or mathematical expression
– par · en · thet · i · cal \ ˌ per- ə n- ' the-ti-k ə l, pa-r ə n- \ also par · en · thet · ic \ -tik \ adjective
– par · en · thet · i · cal · ly \ -ti-k( ə -)l ē \ adverb