Origin: 1560–70; < Gk parallēlepípedon body with parallel surfaces, equiv. to parállēl(os) parallel+ epípedon plane, n. use of neut. of epípedos flat, equiv. to epi-epi-+ pédon ground
parallelepiped (pār'ə-lěl'ə-pī'pĭd, -pĭp'ĭd) Pronunciation Key
A polyhedron with six faces, each a parallelogram and each being parallel to the opposite face.