an equality in value or standing; a level of equality: The gains and the losses are on a par.
2.
an average, usual, or normal amount, degree, quality, condition, standard, or the like: above par; to feel below par.
3.
Golf. the number of strokes set as a standard for a specific hole or a complete course.
4.
Finance.
a.
the legally established value of the monetary unit of one country in terms of that of another using the same metal as a standard of value.
b.
the state of the shares of any business, undertaking, loan, etc., when they may be purchased at the original price (issue par) or at their face value (nominal par).
5.
at par, Finance. (of a share) purchasable at issue par or nominal par.
–adjective
6.
average or normal.
7.
Finance. at or pertaining to par: the par value of a bond.
–verb (used with object)
8.
Golf. to equal par on (a hole or course).
—Idiom
9.
par for the course, exactly what one might expect; typical: They were late again, but that's par for the course.
1622, "equality," also "value of one currency in terms of another," from L. par "equal, that which is equal, equality" (see pair). Meaning "average or usual amount" is first attested 1767. Golf usage is first attested 1898. Figurative use of par for the course is from 1947.
Dis*par"i*ty\, n.; pl. Disparities. [LL. disparitas, fr. L. dispar unlike, unequal; dis- + par equal: cf. F. disparit['e]. See Par, Peer.] Inequality; difference in age, rank, condition, or excellence; dissimilitude; -- followed by between, in, of, as to, etc.; as, disparity in, or of, years; a disparity as to color. The disparity between God and his intelligent creatures. --I. Taylor. The disparity of numbers was not such as ought to cause any uneasiness. --Macaulay. Syn: Inequality; unlikeness; dissimilitude; disproportion; difference.
Par\, n. 1. An amount which is taken as an average or mean. [Eng.] 2. (Golf) The number of strokes required for a hole or a round played without mistake, two strokes being allowed on each hole for putting. Par represents perfect play, whereas bogey makes allowance on some holes for human frailty. Thus if par for a course is 75, bogey is usually put down, arbitrarily, as 81 or 82.
Pair\, n. [F. paire, LL. paria, L. paria, pl. of par pair, fr. par, adj., equal. Cf. Apparel, Par equality, Peer an equal.]1. A number of things resembling one another, or belonging together; a set; as, a pair or flight of stairs. "A pair of beads." --Chaucer. --Beau. & Fl. "Four pair of stairs." --Macaulay. Note: [Now mostly or quite disused, except as to stairs.] Two crowns in my pocket, two pair of cards. --Beau. & Fl. 2. Two things of a kind, similar in form, suited to each other, and intended to be used together; as, a pair of gloves or stockings; a pair of shoes. 3. Two of a sort; a span; a yoke; a couple; a brace; as, a pair of horses; a pair of oxen. 4. A married couple; a man and wife. "A happy pair." --Dryden. "The hapless pair." --Milton. 5. A single thing, composed of two pieces fitted to each other and used together; as, a pair of scissors; a pair of tongs; a pair of bellows. 6. Two members of opposite parties or opinion, as in a parliamentary body, who mutually agree not to vote on a given question, or on issues of a party nature during a specified time; as, there were two pairs on the final vote. [Parliamentary Cant] 7. (Kinematics) In a mechanism, two elements, or bodies, which are so applied to each other as to mutually constrain relative motion. Note: Pairs are named in accordance with the kind of motion they permit; thus, a journal and its bearing form a turning pair, a cylinder and its piston a sliding pair, a screw and its nut a twisting pair, etc. Any pair in which the constraining contact is along lines or at points only (as a cam and roller acting together), is designated a higher pair; any pair having constraining surfaces which fit each other (as a cylindrical pin and eye, a screw and its nut, etc.), is called a lower pair. Pair royal (pl. Pairs Royal) three things of a sort; -- used especially of playing cards in some games, as cribbage; as three kings, three "eight spots" etc. Four of a kind are called a double pair royal. "Something in his face gave me as much pleasure as a pair royal of naturals in my own hand." --Goldsmith. "That great pair royal of adamantine sisters [the Fates]." --Quarles. [Written corruptly parial and prial.] Syn: Pair, Flight, Set. Usage: Originally, pair was not confined to two things, but was applied to any number of equal things (pares), that go together. Ben Jonson speaks of a pair (set) of chessmen; also, he and Lord Bacon speak of a pair (pack) of cards. A "pair of stairs" is still in popular use, as well as the later expression, "flight of stairs."
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Audio Help [pahr] Pronunciation Key noun, adjective, verb, parred, par·ring. 
