parable

[ par-uh-buhl ]

/ ˈpær ə bəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR parable ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

Nearby words

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 FOR parable

1 allegory, homily, apologue.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR parable ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formspa·rab·o·list

[puh-rab-uh-list] /pəˈræb ə lɪst/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for parables

Parables of complex societal problems being solved in a simple way by a pure-minded child are ubiquitous in North Korean culture.
Such a Sweet Little Dictator: Kim Jong-un and North Korea’s Child Cult|Scott Bixby|April 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From here on, he was a philosopher, a sage, and his interviews were stuffed full of dicta, parables and eternal paradoxes.
What It Was Like to Watch the Beatles Become the Beatles—Nik Cohn Remembers|Nik Cohn|February 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The imaginative Raami turns within, summoning the parables, poems, dignity, humility, and wisdom of her father.
This Week’s Hot Reads: July 23, 2012, All-Fiction Edition|Mythili Rao|July 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The stories, most of them very short, have the blunt, evocative effect of parables or campfire tales.
3 Great Reads for Thanksgiving|Taylor Antrim|November 25, 2009|DAILY BEAST

No one does, but least of all men Plato, who hardly taught except in parables.
Philosophy and The Social Problem|Will Durant
He has been speaking to them in symbols, proverbs, parables.
The Gospel of St. John|Frederick Denison Maurice
Our lesson was as usual from "the Parables," and the scholars wrote an abstract from the "Pearl of great price."
Leaves for a Christmas Bough|Unknown
Proverbs and parables are closely related, and in the Bible the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.
Jesus the Christ|James Edward Talmage
His parables are at once the surest defence, and the most probable originators, of her symbolism.
Churches and Church Ornaments|William Durandus

British Dictionary definitions for parables

parable

/ (ˈpærəbəl) /

noun

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

Derived Formsparabolist (pəˈræbəlɪst), noun

Word Origin for parable

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 parables

parable

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.)).

Culture definitions for parables

parables

In the New Testament, the stories told by Jesus to convey his religious message; they include the parable of the Good Samaritan and that of the Prodigal Son.