I. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English partinge, parting, from gerund of parten to part
1. archaic : departure
nothing troubled me at my parting from the island — Daniel Defoe
2.
a. : the action of separating or dividing into parts : the state of being parted
could feel the soft parting of her lips — Hamilton Basso
many failures which result in parting of the drill pipe in the well bore — Primer of Oil Well Drilling
b. : separation of the constituents of alloys ; especially : the separation of gold from silver (as in refining)
3. : a mutual separation of two or more persons : the action of leaving one another : leave-taking
good night, good night! parting is such sweet sorrow — Shakespeare
4. : a part or place where separation occurs: as
a. chiefly Britain : part 11
wavy black hair, neatly brushed into a parting — Christopher La Farge
b. : the joint where one section of a foundry mold meets another
5. : something that serves to separate two or more objects:
a.
(1) : a thin depositional layer separating thick deposits (as shale in a coal seam)
(2) : a geological joint or fissure
b. : the fine sand or other similar material used to prevent adhesions of the members of a foundry mold
6. : a process of making combs out of flat plates with little or no waste by cutting the combs two at a time so that the teeth of one comb are formed of the material in the interstices between the teeth of the other comb
7. : lamellar separation in a crystallized mineral due to a cause other than cleavage (as the presence of twinning lamellae)
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- parting of the ways
II. adjective
Etymology: from present participle of part (II)
1. : being in the process of departing
in the direction of the parting figure — A.C.Benson
especially : dying 1a
the curfew tolls the knell of parting day — Thomas Gray
fortify the parting soul — J.M.Neale
2. : given, taken, or performed at parting : farewell , final
he remembered his father's parting advice — F.V.W.Mason
added as a parting shot
3. : serving to part : constituting a space or boundary between objects : dividing , separating
a parting layer of pure flint — Charles Lyell
4. archaic : undergoing division : in the process of dividing : breaking up : breaking
the parting ship that instant is no more — William Falconer
5. : used in foundry work to prevent adhesion of parts of a mold to each other or of sand to molds
parting compound
parting dust