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Par·ry

(părē), Sir William Edward 1790-1855.

British navigator who commanded three expeditions in search of the Northwest Passage (1819-1820, 1821-1823, and 1824-1825).

Par·ry

(părē), Milman 1902-1935.

American classicist and folklorist who revealed the oral-formulaic character of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey by analyzing the formulaic nature of the poems and studying the performance and structure of the heroic songs of South Slavic bards.

par·ry

(părē)

v. par·ried, par·ry·ing, par·ries

v.tr.

1. To deflect or ward off (a fencing thrust, for example).

2. To deflect, evade, or avoid: He skillfully parried the question with a clever reply.

v.intr.

To deflect or ward off a thrust or blow.

n. pl. par·ries

1. The deflecting or warding off of a thrust or blow, as in fencing.

2. An evasive answer or action.

[Probably from French parez, imperative of parer, to defend, from Italian parare, from Latin parāre, to prepare; see perə-¹ in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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