parallelism
|par-al-le-lism|
🇺🇸
/ˈpærəˌlɛlɪzəm/
🇬🇧
/ˈpærəlɛlɪz(ə)m/
side-by-side correspondence
Etymology
'parallelism' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'parallēlos', where 'para-' meant 'beside' and 'allēlos' meant 'one another'.
'parallelism' entered English via Late Latin and Old French (e.g. Old French 'paralelisme' / Medieval Latin) and appeared in Middle English as 'parallelisme', eventually becoming the modern English word 'parallelism'.
Initially it referred primarily to the state of being parallel or corresponding; over time the term broadened to include rhetorical 'parallel construction', analogies between situations, and technical senses such as parallel processing in computing.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the state or condition of being parallel; two or more lines, planes, or objects being equidistant and never meeting.
The engineer checked the parallelism of the rails before starting the train.
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Noun 2
a similarity or analogy between two situations, ideas, or events.
There are clear parallelisms between the economic crises of 1929 and 2008.
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Noun 3
in grammar and rhetoric, the use of similar grammatical constructions or patterns of words to express related ideas (parallel construction).
The writer used parallelism in the sentence: 'We will fight on the beaches, we will fight on the landing grounds.'
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Noun 4
in computing, the practice or capability of performing multiple calculations or processes simultaneously (parallel processing).
Modern algorithms exploit parallelism to speed up large computations.
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Last updated: 2025/08/19 01:40