| var. of para- 1 before a vowel: parenchyma. |
| 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). |
| par- pref. Variant of para-1. |
| para- 1 or par- pref.
[Greek, from para, beside; see per1 in Indo-European roots.] |
para- or par-
pref.
Beside; near; alongside: paranucleus.
Beyond: parapsychology.
Incorrect; abnormal: paradipsia.
Similar to; resembling: paratyphoid.
Subsidiary; assistant: paramedical.
Isomeric; polymeric: paraldehyde.
A diatomic molecule in which the nuclei have opposite spin directions: parahydrogen.
Abbr. p- 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. Usually in italic: para-bromoiodobenzene.