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par(a)-1

Also p‑.

Beside; adjacent to.

Greek para, beside.

A number of words from Greek contain this form: parallel (Greek parallēlos, from para, alongside, plus allēlos, one another); paragraph (Greek paragraphos, a short horizontal stroke written below the beginning of a line in which a break of sense occurs, from graphein, write). The Greek form often had a sense of something amiss, faulty, irregular, or subsidiary, which appears in parasite (Greek parasitos, eating at another's table, from sitos food); parish (literally a subsidiary place, from Greek oikos, dwelling); and parody (Greek parōidia, a burlesque poem, from ōidē, an ode).

The sense of something irregular, or outside what is considered normal, appears in several English words: parapsychology, the study of mental phenomena outside orthodox scientific psychology, such as hypnosis or telepathy; paranormal, of topics such as telekinesis or clairvoyance that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding; parainfluenza, a disease caused by any of a group of viruses which resemble influenza; paramagnetic, of something very weakly attracted by the poles of a magnet, but not retaining any permanent magnetism; paranoia (Greek noos, mind, hence ‘irregular mind’), a mental condition characterized by delusions of persecution; parasuicide, apparent attempted suicide without the actual intention of killing oneself.

The form is also used for occupational roles considered to be ancillary or subordinate; paramedic, a person who is trained to do medical work, but is not a fully qualified doctor; paralegal, a person trained in subsidiary legal matters but not fully qualified as a lawyer; a more general term is paraprofessional. Such terms are in general more common in North America than in Britain. Sometimes the sense is of something irregular: paramilitary, of an unofficial force organized on military lines.

Para‑ can refer to something beside or adjacent, as in parathyroid, a gland next to the thyroid; parhelion (Greek hēlios, sun), a bright spot in the sky appearing on either side of the sun; paracrine (Greek krinein, to separate), of a hormone which has effect only in the vicinity of the gland secreting it.

In chemistry, the form indicates that a benzene ring has been substituted at diametrically opposite carbon atoms, as in paradichlorobenzene, a moth repellent, and para-aminobenzoic acid, a crystalline acid which has been used to treat rickettsial infections. It is frequently abbreviated to p‑ (p‑xylene; p‑nitrotoluene). Substitution in other positions is indicated by ortho‑ and meta‑. In chemical compounds such as paraformaldehyde, paraldehyde, and paranthracene, whose molecules do not contain benzene rings, para‑ is used unsystematically in the sense of ‘altered’ to refer to a polymer of the compound.

Some words do not belong here: pariah comes from Tamil; parade from Latin parare, prepare; paradise from a Persian word meaning an enclosed space; paramour from Old French par amour, by love.

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