PARENTHESIS


Meaning of PARENTHESIS in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ pə-ˈren(t)-thə-səs ]

noun

( plural pa·ren·the·ses -ˌsēz)

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 ˌper-ən-ˈthe-ti-kəl, pa-rən- also par·en·thet·ic -tik adjective

• par·en·thet·i·cal·ly -ti-k(ə-)lē adverb

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.