par|ent|age /peə rənt I dʒ/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft of adj N ] Your parentage is the identity and origins of your parents. For example, if you are of Greek parentage , your parents are Greek. □ She's a Londoner of mixed parentage (English and Jamaican).
pa|ren|tal /pəre nt ə l/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Parental is used to describe something that relates to parents in general, or to one or both of the parents of a particular child. □ Medical treatment was sometimes given to children without parental consent.
pa|re n|tal lea ve N‑UNCOUNT Parental leave is time away from work, usually without pay, that parents are allowed in order to look after their children. [BUSINESS ] □ Parents are entitled to 13 weeks' parental leave.
pa|ren|thesis /pəre nθəs I s/ (parentheses /pəre nθəsiːz/)
1 N‑COUNT [usu pl] Parentheses are a pair of curved marks that you put around words or numbers to indicate that they are additional, separate, or less important. (This sentence is in parentheses.)
2 N‑COUNT A parenthesis is a remark that is made in the middle of a piece of speech or writing, and which gives a little more information about the subject being discussed.
3 PHRASE You say in parenthesis to indicate that you are about to add something before going back to the main topic.
par|en|the|ti|cal /pæ rənθe t I k ə l/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A parenthetical remark or section is put into something written or spoken but is not essential to it. □ Fox was making a long parenthetical remark about his travels on the border of the country. ● par|en|the|ti|cal|ly ADV [ADV with v, ADV adj] □ Well, parenthetically, I was trying to quit smoking at the time. □ And what, we may ask parenthetically, does it mean?
par|ent|hood /peə rənthʊd/ N‑UNCOUNT Parenthood is the state of being a parent. □ She may feel unready for the responsibilities of parenthood.
par|ent|ing /peə rənt I ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Parenting is the activity of bringing up and looking after your child. □ Parenting is not fully valued by society. □ …parenting classes.
pa rent-tea cher as|so|cia|tion (parent-teacher associations ) N‑COUNT A parent-teacher association is the same as a PTA .
par ex|cel|lence /pɑː r e ksəlɑːns, [AM ] -lɑː ns/ ADJ [n ADJ ] You say that something is a particular kind of thing par excellence in order to emphasize that it is a very good example of that kind of thing. [EMPHASIS ] □ He has been a meticulous manager, a manager par excellence. ● ADV [ADV after v] Par excellence is also an adverb. □ He is par excellence the Catholic film-maker.
pa|ri|ah /pəra I ə/ (pariahs ) N‑COUNT If you describe someone as a pariah , you mean that other people dislike them so much that they refuse to associate with them. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal, a pariah.
par|ing /peə r I ŋ/ (parings ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] Parings are thin pieces that have been cut off things such as a fingernails, fruit, or vegetables. □ …nail parings. □ …vegetable parings.
par|ish /pæ r I ʃ/ (parishes )
1 N‑COUNT [oft N n] A parish is a village or part of a town which has its own church and priest. □ …the parish of St Mark's, Lakenham. □ …a 13th-century parish church.
2 N‑COUNT [usu N n] A parish is a small country area in England which has its own elected council. □ …elected representatives, such as County and Parish Councillors.
pa|rish|ion|er /pər I ʃənə r / (parishioners ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] A priest's parishioners are the people who live in his or her parish, especially the ones who go to his or her church.
Pa|ris|ian /pær I ziən/ (Parisians )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Parisian means belonging or relating to Paris. □ …Parisian fashion.
2 N‑COUNT A Parisian is a person who comes from Paris.
par|ity /pæ r I ti/
1 N‑UNCOUNT If there is parity between two things, they are equal. [FORMAL ] □ Women have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields.
2 N‑VAR If there is parity between the units of currency of two countries, the exchange rate is such that the units are equal to each other. [TECHNICAL ] □ [+ with ] The government was ready to let the pound sink to parity with the dollar if necessary.
park ◆◆◇ /pɑː r k/ (parks , parking , parked )
1 N‑COUNT A park is a public area of land with grass and trees, usually in a town, where people go in order to relax and enjoy themselves. □ …Regent's Park. □ They stopped and sat on a park bench.
2 VERB When you park a vehicle or park somewhere, you drive the vehicle into a position where it can stay for a period of time, and leave it there. □ [V ] Greenfield turned into the next side street and parked. □ [V n] He found a place to park the car. □ [V prep/adv] Ben parked across the street. □ [V -ed] …rows of parked cars.
3 → see also double-park
4 N‑COUNT You can refer to a place where a particular activity is carried out as a park . □ …a science and technology park. □ …a business park.
5 N‑VAR A private area of grass and trees around a large country house is referred to as a park . [BRIT ] □ …a 19th-century manor house in six acres of park and woodland.
6 → see also parked , amusement park , ballpark , car park , national park , safari park , theme park
par|ka /pɑː r kə/ (parkas ) N‑COUNT A parka is a jacket or coat which has a thick lining and a hood with fur round the edge.