/peuh rab"euh sis/ , n. , pl. parabases /-seez'/ .
(in ancient Greek drama) a choral ode addressed to the audience, esp. of comedy, and independent of the action of the play: usually following the agon and, in the earliest forms of comedy, serving often to end the play.
[ 1810-20; parábasis a going aside, digression; see PARA- 1 , BASIS ]