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Definition of parsec - 5 dictionary results

par⋅sec

  [pahr-sek]
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–noun Astronomy.
a unit of distance equal to that required to cause a heliocentric parallax of one second of an arc, equivalent to 206,265 times the distance from the earth to the sun, or 3.26 light-years.
Origin:
1910–15; par(allax) + sec(ond) 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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par·sec   (pär'sěk')   
n.  A unit of astronomical length based on the distance from Earth at which stellar parallax is one second of arc and equal to 3.258 light-years, 3.086 × 1013 kilometers, or 1.918 × 1013 miles.

[par(allax) + sec(ond)1.]
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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Word Origin & History

parsec 
1913, from par(allax) sec(ond). It is the distance at which an object has parallax (viewed from Earth) of one second of arc, or about 3.26 light years.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

PARSEC
Extensible language with PL/I-like syntax, derived from PROTEUS. "PARSEC User's Manual", Bolt Beranek & Newman (Dec 1972).

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
parsec
parallax second
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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