parallels

Noun

parallel (plural parallels)

1. One of a set of parallel lines.
   • Who made the spider parallels design, / Sure as De Moivre, without rule or line?1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC
2. Direction conformable to that of another line.
   • lines that from their parallel decline1699, Samuel Garth, The Dispensary
3. A line of latitude.
   • The 31st parallel passes through the center of my town.
4. An arrangement of electrical components such that a current flows along two or more paths; see in parallel.
5. Something identical or similar in essential respects.
   • It has also been suggested that environmental crimes might include the proposed crime of ‘ecocide’ or ‘geocide’, with proponents of this view attempting to draw parallels between destructive acts towards the environment and those against the qualifying groups for genocide. […] [M]any who advocate...2013, Alexandra R. Harrington, “The Crime of Aggression and Threats to the Future”, in Sébastien Jodoin, Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, editors, Sustainable Development, International Criminal...
6. A comparison made; elaborate tracing of similarity.
   • Johnson's parallel between Dryden and Pope

See all 22 meanings of parallel