[par.al.lel] adj [L parallelus, fr. Gk parallelos, fr. para beside + allelon of one another, fr. allos ... allos one ... another, fr. allos other--more at else] (1549) 1 a: extending in the same direction, everywhere equidistant, and not meeting "~ rows of trees" b: everywhere equally distant "concentric spheres are ~"
2. a: having parallel sides "a ~ reamer" b: being or relating to an electrical circuit having a number of conductors in parallel c: arranged in parallel "a ~ processor" d: relating to or being a connection in a computer system in which the bits of a byte are transmitted over separate channels at the same time--compare serial 3 a: similar, analogous, or interdependent in tendency or development b: readily compared: companion c: having identical syntactical elements in corresponding positions; also: being such an element d (1): having the same tonic--used of major and minor keys and scales (2): keeping the same distance apart in musical pitch
4: performed while keeping one's skis parallel "~ turns" syn see similar
[2]parallel n (1551) 1 a: a parallel line, curve, or surface b: one of the imaginary circles on the surface of the earth paralleling the equator and marking the latitude; also: the corresponding line on a globe or map--see latitude illustration c: a character used in printing esp. as a reference mark
2. a: something equal or similar in all essential particulars: counterpart b: similarity, analogue
3: a comparison to show resemblance: a tracing of similarity
4. a: the state of being physically parallel: parallelism b: an arrangement of electrical devices in a circuit in which the same potential difference is applied to two or more resistances with each resistance being on a different branch of the circuit--compare series c: an arrangement or state that permits several operations or tasks to be performed simultaneously rather than consecutively [3]parallel vt (1598) 1: to indicate analogy of: compare
2. a: to show something equal to: match b: to correspond to
3: to place so as to be parallel in direction with something
4: to extend, run, or move in a direction parallel to [4]parallel adv (1787): in a parallel manner