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 the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + mutuel, mutual (from Old French; see MUTUAL).] |
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