parable
[par-uh-buhl]
- a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.
- a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like.
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Origin of parable
1275–1325; Middle English parabil < Late Latin parabola comparison, parable, word < Greek parabolḗ comparison, equivalent to para- para-1 + bolḗ a throwing
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for parable
Contemporary Examples
He recounts a parable that has long been a staple of dairy farm folklore.
Expecting otherwise is enough to make one recite the parable of the Old Woman and the Snake.
What seems at first to be novel about gender inequity gradually reveals itself to be a parable about social class.
Equilateral can be read as a parable of the ways we blind ourselves through vanity, love, and greed.
For proof, please open your Seinfeld textbook to episode 174, that parable called “The Frogger.”
Historical Examples
When this room had last been lighted, the parable of the Virgins of the Lamps was yet unspoken.
It Happened in EgyptC. N. Williamson
It is to such that the unlimited prayer promises of the parable are given.
The Ministry of IntercessionAndrew Murray
We remember the marks of the true intercessor as the parable taught us them.
The Ministry of IntercessionAndrew Murray
What does the parable of the Pounds show us that we should do?
Hurlbut's Bible LessonsRev. Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
Not one of them who would not quote with approval the parable of the Wedding Guest.
The Stark Munro LettersJ. Stark Munro
parable
- a short story that uses familiar events to illustrate a religious or ethical pointRelated adjectives: parabolic, parabolical
- any of the stories of this kind told by Jesus Christ
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French parabole, from Latin parabola comparison, from Greek parabolē analogy, from paraballein to throw alongside, from para- 1 + ballein to throw
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for parable
n.
mid-13c., parabol, modern form from early 14c., "saying or story in which something is expressed in terms of something else," from Old French parable "parable, parabolic style in writing" (13c.), from Latin parabola "comparison," from Greek parabole "a comparison, parable," literally "a throwing beside," hence "a juxtaposition," from para- "alongside" (see para- (1)) + bole "a throwing, casting, beam, ray," related to ballein "to throw" (see ballistics).
Replaced Old English bispell. In Vulgar Latin, parabola took on the meaning "word," hence Italian parlare, French parler "to speak" (see parley (n.)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper