parasang

American  

[par-uh-sang] / ˈpær əˌsæŋ /

noun

1. an ancient Persian unit of distance, equal to about 3.5 miles (5.6 km).

---

parasang British  

/ ˈpærəˌsæŋ /

noun

1. a Persian unit of distance equal to about 5.5 km or 3.4 miles

---

Etymology

Origin of parasang

C16: via Latin and Greek from a Persian word related to modern Persian farsang

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parasang

Such words as "blastoderm", "sindoc," "peris," "parasang," "sarcenet," "teazel," "nullah," "cantatrice," "barracan," "sistrum," writhed and hissed in her verses.

From Time Magazine Archive

The 9th of August we went only one parasang to a river.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 09 Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time by Kerr, Robert

But Rennell thinks the parasang not more than 2.78 English miles.

From The First Four Books of Xenophon's Anabasis by Watson, John Selby

Their unwearying feet had tramped many a long parasang.

From A Victor of Salamis by Davis, William Stearns

They discharge themselves into the Euphrates, are distant from each other one parasang, and there are bridges over them.

From The First Four Books of Xenophon's Anabasis by Watson, John Selby