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Definition of pari-mutuel - 3 dictionary results

par⋅i-mu⋅tu⋅el

  [par-i-myoo-choo-uhl]
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–noun
1. a form of betting and of handling the betting on horse races at racetracks, in which those holding winning tickets divide the total amount bet in proportion to their wagers, less a percentage for the management, taxes, etc.
2. Also called parimutuel machine. an electronic machine that registers bets in parimutuel betting as they are made and calculates and posts the changing odds and final payoffs.
Origin:
1880–85; < F: lit., mutual bet
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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par·i-mu·tu·el also par·i·mu·tu·el   (pār'ĭ-myōō'chōō-əl)   
n.  
  1. A system of betting on races whereby the winners divide the total amount bet, after deducting management expenses, in proportion to the sums they have wagered individually.
  2. A machine that records such bets and computes the payoffs.

[French : pari, wager (from parier, to wager, from Latin pariāre, to settle a debt, from pār, par-, equal; see perə-2 in Indo-European roots) + mutuel, mutual (from Old French; see mutual).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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pari-mutuel 
1881, from Fr. pari-mutuel "mutual wager," from pari "wager" (from parier "to bet," from L. pariare "to settle a debt," lit. "to make equal," from par, gen. paris, "equal") + mutuel "mutual," from L. mutuus (see mutual).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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