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Definition of parietal - 8 dictionary results

pa⋅ri⋅e⋅tal

  [puh-rahy-i-tl]
Use parietal in a Sentence
–adjective
1. Anatomy. of, pertaining to, or situated near the side and top of the skull or the parietal bone.
2. Biology. of or pertaining to parietes or structural walls.
3. Botany. pertaining to or arising from a wall: usually applied to ovules when they proceed from or are borne on the walls or sides of the ovary.
4. pertaining to or having authority over residence, and esp. visitation regulations between the sexes, within the walls or buildings of a college or university: a listing of the parietal regulations for the law students' dormitory.
–noun
5. Anatomy. any of several parts in the parietal region of the skull, esp. the parietal bone.
6. parietals. Also called parietal rules. campus regulations governing visits between members of opposite sexes to each other's dormitories or rooms.
Origin:
1590–1600; < LL parietālis of, belonging to walls, equiv. to L pariet- (s. of pariēs) wall + -ālis -al 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pa·ri·e·tal   (pə-rī'ĭ-təl)   
adj.  
  1. Relating to or forming the wall of a body part, organ, or cavity.
  2. Of or relating to either of the parietal bones.
  3. Botany Borne on the inside of the ovary wall. Used of the ovules or placentas in flowering plants.
  4. Dwelling within or having authority within the walls or buildings of a college.
n.  
  1. A parietal part, such as a wall or bone.
  2. parietals The rules governing the visiting privileges of members of the opposite sex in college or university dormitories.

[Middle English, from Late Latin parietālis, of a wall, from Latin pariēs, pariet-, wall.]
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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Parietal

Pa*ri"e*tal\, a. [L. parietalis, fr. paries, -ietis, a wall: cf. F. pari['e]tal. Cf. Parietary, Pellitory.]

1. Of or pertaining to a wall; hence, pertaining to buildings or the care of them.

2. Resident within the walls or buildings of a college.

At Harvard College, the officers resident within the college walls constitute a permanent standing committee, called the Parietal Committee. --B. H. Hall (1856).

3. (Anat.) (a) Of pertaining to the parietes. (b) Of, pertaining to, or in the region of, the parietal bones, which form the upper and middle part of the cranium, between the frontals and occipitals.

4. (Bot.) Attached to the main wall of the ovary, and not to the axis; -- said of a placenta.

Parietal

Pa*ri"e*tal\, n. 1. (Anat.) One of the parietal bones.

2. (Zo["o]l.) One of the special scales, or plates, covering the back of the head in certain reptiles and fishes.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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parietal 
c.1425, "pertaining to the walls of a cavity in the body," from L.L. parietalis "of walls," from L. paries (gen. parietis) "wall," of unknown origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: 1pa·ri·etal
Pronunciation: p&-'rI-&t-&l
Function: adjective
1 : of or relating to thewalls of a part or cavity —compare VISCERAL
2 : of, relating to, or located in the upper posteriorpart of the head; specifically : relating to the parietal bones

Main Entry: 2parietal
Function: noun
: a parietal part (as a bone)
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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parietal pa·ri·e·tal (pə-rī'ĭ-tl)
adj.

  1. Relating to or forming the wall of any cavity.
  2. Of or relating to either of the parietal bones.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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