I. |parə|sid.]ik, -sit], ]ēk also |per- adjective
also par·a·sit·i·cal ]ə̇kəl, ]ēk-
Etymology: Latin parasiticus, from Greek parasitikos, from parasit os parasite + -ikos -ic, -ical — more at parasite
1.
a. : having the nature of a parasite : fawning for food or favors : sponging , sycophantic
one stable and independent nation … is worth a dozen parasitic governments that fawn on the United States with simulated affection — M.W.Straight
a parasitic desire to thrive on the greatness of others — H.W.Haeusermann
b. : dependent but contributing or producing little or nothing
a society in which a small class of wealthy people are parasitic upon the labor of the masses — H.J.Laski
criticism of literature and art is parasitic and all but futile — Norman Foerster
parasitic and unproductive occupations like those of stockbrokers, soldiers, philosophers, economists, and most middlemen — Louis Wasserman
that religion is … intellectually parasitic and not creative — M.R.Cohen
2. usually parasitic
a. : relating to or having the habit of a parasite : living on another organism
b. : caused by or resulting from the effects of parasites
c. of a bird : laying eggs in the nest of another
3. : of, relating to, or constituting an inorganic sound or its orthographic counterpart developed next to another sound (as a liquid or a nasal) through euphony or to facilitate utterance
the ə in ˈeləm for elm or in ˈathəˌlēt for athlete, the t in fents for fence, and the b and b in ˈnimbəl nimble from Middle English nimel are parasitic
4.
a. : being or relating to undesirable component frequencies ; specifically : differing from the fundamental frequency that the equipment is designed to generate
a parasitic elective oscillation
b. : consisting of or caused by eddy currents in any conductor within reach of an alternating-current or rotating magnetic field
parasitic loss in an induction motor
c. : being part of a radio antenna detached from the main conductor
• par·a·sit·i·cal·ly ]ə̇k(ə)lē, ]ēk, -li\ adverb
II. noun
( -s )
: a parasitic current or oscillation