I. ˈpärsəl, ˈpȧs-, dial except in sense 3 ˈpas- or ˈpaas- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French parcelle, parcel, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin particella, alteration of Latin particula small part — more at particle
1.
a. : a component part of a whole : division , fragment , portion
nature in all her parcels and faculties fell apart — G.M.Hopkins
— often used in the phrase part and parcel
part and parcel of a larger tract
b. obsolete : a particular detail : item
I will die a hundred thousand deaths ere break the smallest parcel of this vow — Shakespeare
2.
a. : a continuous tract or plot of land in one possession no part of which is separated from the rest by intervening land in other possession
b. : a tract or plot of land whose boundaries are readily ascertainable by natural or artificial monuments or markers
3. : a company, collection, or group of persons, animals, or things : lot , pack — often used as a generalized expression of disapproval
shooing out a parcel of hens — Ida Treat
a small parcel of cows and a few sheep — Elizabeth M. Roberts
came to control a whole parcel of maritime companies — E.J.Kahn
a parcel of giddy young kids — Mark Twain
4.
a. : a wrapped bundle of one or more objects : package
the box was obviously a diamond parcel — Emily Hahn
old ladies … rustling their luncheon parcels — Anthony Carson
divide science into convenient pedagogic and administrative parcels — Scientific American Reader
b. : a unit of salable merchandise
5. : parceling 2
Synonyms: see part
II. adverb
Etymology: Middle English, from parcel, n.
archaic : partly
III. transitive verb
( parceled or parcelled ; parceled or parcelled ; parceling or parcelling -s(ə)liŋ ; parcels )
Etymology: parcel (I)
1. : to divide into parts or portions : distribute — often used with out
small segments of the plantation were parceled out to farmers — W.B.Furlong
2. : to make up into a parcel : bundle , wrap
parcel his purchase
3. : to cover (as a rope or a caulked seam) with strips of canvas
Synonyms: see apportion
IV. adjective
Etymology: parcel (I)
: part-time , partial
V. noun
: a volume of a fluid (as air) considered as a single entity within a greater volume of the same fluid