parcel

[ pahr-suh l ]

/ ˈpɑr səl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR parcel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an object, article, container, or quantity of something wrapped or packed up; small package; bundle.

a quantity or unit of something, as of a commodity for sale; lot.

a group, collection, or assemblage of persons or things.

a distinct, continuous portion or tract of land.

a part, portion, or fragment.

verb (used with object), par·celed, par·cel·ing or (especially British) par·celled, par·cel·ling.

to divide into or distribute in parcels or portions (usually followed by out).

to make into a parcel or wrap as a parcel.

Nautical. to cover or wrap (a rope) with strips of canvas.

adverb

Archaic. in part; partially.

Nearby words

Origin of parcel

1275–1325; Middle English < Middle French parcelle < Late Latin *particella, fresh formation for Latin particula; see particle, passel

SYNONYMS FOR parcel

1. See package. 3. batch, assortment. 6. mete, apportion, deal, allot.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR parcel ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsun·par·celed, adjectiveun·par·celled, adjectiveun·par·cel·ling, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for parcel

In contrast, SIX is clearly part and parcel of the Democratic establishment.
The Left’s Answer to ALEC|Ben Jacobs|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This happens in the art world as well, where it can be more profitable to parcel off pieces of ancient vases.
Dismembering History: The Shady Online Trade in Ancient Texts|Candida Moss|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The discrimination and slights Abe experiences are “part and parcel of what we are experiencing in the world,” says Akhtar.
Religion, Race, and a Broadway Hit: The Making of ‘Disgraced’|Tim Teeman|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They had wandered up and down, unable to deliver themselves of their parcel.
Did Picasso Try to Steal the Mona Lisa?|Nick Mafi|October 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

It is part and parcel of the implicit politics of Snap Judgment, which folds the margins of American society into its center.
NPR’s Smooth-Talking Millennial Whisperer|Batya Ungar-Sargon|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Once, by way of a joke, young Sia put a small snake into a parcel, which he gave her and told her to open.
The Chinese Fairy Book|Various
Angelina could not remember that she had ever had a parcel before, and the excitement of this one must be prolonged.
The Golden Scarecrow|Hugh Walpole
The fruiterer's daughter was putting into the cabriolet a parcel belonging to Georges at the moment of his arrest.
Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, Complete|Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne
It was part and parcel of the original agitation of slavery commenced in 1835, and continued ever since.
Thirty Years' View (Vol. II of 2)|Thomas Hart Benton
Mail trucks loaded with parcel post matter to betransported to different stations in the city.
The Postal System of the United States and the New York General Post Office|Thomas C. Jefferies

British Dictionary definitions for parcel

parcel

/ (ˈpɑːsəl) /

noun

something wrapped up; package

a group of people or things having some common characteristic

a quantity of some commodity offered for sale; lot

a distinct portion of land

an essential part of something (esp in the phrase part and parcel)

verb -cels, -celling or -celled or US -cels, -celing or -celed (tr)

(often foll by up) to make a parcel of; wrap up

(often foll by out) to divide (up) into portions

nautical to bind strips of canvas around (a rope)

adverb

an archaic word for partly

Word Origin for parcel

C14: from Old French parcelle, from Latin particula particle

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 parcel

parcel

late 14c., "a portion of something, a part" (sense preserved in phrase parcel of land, c.1400), from Old French parcele "small piece, particle, parcel," from Vulgar Latin *particella, diminutive of Latin particula "small part, little bit," itself a diminutive of pars (genitive partis) "part" (see part (n.)).

Meaning "package" is first recorded 1640s, earlier "a quantity of goods in a package" (mid-15c.), from late 14c. sense of "an amount or quantity of anything." The expression part and parcel (early 15c.) also preserves the older sense; both words mean the same, the multiplicity is for emphasis.

parcel

"to divide into small portions," early 15c. (with out), from parcel (n.). Related: Parceled; parcelled; parceling; parcelling.

Idioms and Phrases with parcel

parcel

In addition to the idiom beginning with parcel

parcel out

also see:

part and parcel

parcel

noun

verb (used with object), par·celed, par·cel·ing or (especially British) par·celled, par·cel·ling.

adverb

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of parcel

Examples from the Web for parcel

parcel

noun

verb -cels, -celling or -celled or US -cels, -celing or -celed (tr)

adverb

Word Origin for parcel

parcel

parcel

parcel