Para- - Definitions from Dictionary.com

8 results for: Para-

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

para-1

a prefix appearing in loanwords from Greek, most often attached to verbs and verbal derivatives, with the meanings “at or to one side of, beside, side by side” (parabola; paragraph; parallel; paralysis), “beyond, past, by” (paradox; paragogue); by extension from these senses, this prefix came to designate objects or activities auxiliary to or derivative of that denoted by the base word (parody; paronomasia), and hence abnormal or defective (paranoia), a sense now common in modern scientific coinages (parageusia; paralexia). As an English prefix, para-¹ may have any of these senses; it is also productive in the naming of occupational roles considered ancillary or subsidiary to roles requiring more training, or of a higher status, on such models as paramedical and paraprofessional: paralegal; paralibrarian; parapolice.

2.	Chemistry. a combining form designating the para (1, 4) position in the benzene ring. Abbreviation: p-. Compare meta- (def. 2c), ortho- (def. 2b).

Also, especially before a vowel, par-.

[Origin: < Gk para-, comb. form repr. pará (prep.) beside, alongside of, by, beyond

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Para-

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para-2

a combining form meaning “guard against,” occurring in loanwords from French, or, via French, from Italian: parachute; parasol.

[Origin: < F < It para, 3d sing. pres. of parare to prepare against, ward off < L parāre to prepare

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

para-3

a combining form extracted from parachute, forming compounds denoting persons or things utilizing parachutes or landed by parachute: paradrop; paradoctor; paraglider; paratrooper.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

para-¹ or par-
pref.

Beside; near; alongside: parathyroid.
Beyond: paranormal.
Incorrect; abnormal: paresthesia.
Similar to; resembling: paratyphoid fever.
Subsidiary; assistant: paraprofessional.
Isomeric; polymeric: paraldehyde.
A diatomic molecule in which the nuclei have opposite spin directions: parahydrogen.
Of or relating to one of three possible isomers of a benzene ring with two attached chemical groups in which the carbon atoms with attached groups are separated by two unsubstituted carbon atoms: para-aminobenzoic acid.

[Greek, from para, beside; see per¹ in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

para-²
pref. Parachute; parachutist: paratroops.

[From parachute.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
para-

prefix meaning "alongside, beyond, altered, contrary," from Gk. para- from para (prep.) "beside, near, from, against, contrary to," cognate with Skt. para "beyond;" Hitt. para "on, forth;" L. pro "before, for, in favor of," per- "through;" Goth. faur "along;" O.E. for- "off, away" (see fore).

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Para-

Met"a-\, Met- \Met-\ [Gr. ? between, with, after; akin to AS. mid with, G. mit, Goth. mi[thorn], E. mid, in midwife.]

1. A prefix meaning between, with, after, behind, over, about, reversely; as, metachronism, the error of placing after the correct time; metaphor, lit., a carrying over; metathesis, a placing reversely.

2. (Chem.) A prefix denoting: (a) Other; duplicate, corresponding to; resembling; hence, metameric; as, meta-arabinic, metaldehyde. (b) (Organic Chem.) That two replacing radicals, in the benzene nucleus, occupy the relative positions of 1 and 3, 2 and 4, 3 and 5, 4 and 6, 5 and 1, or 6 and 2; as, metacresol, etc. See Ortho-, and Para-. (c) (Inorganic Chem.) Having less than the highest number of hydroxyl groups; -- said of acids; as, metaphosphoric acid. Also used adjectively.

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