parcel

[pahr-suh l]

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.

Origin of parcel

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

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

Synonyms for parcel

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR parcel ON THESAURUS.COM

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

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

Related Words for parcel

carton, bundle, packet, package, batch, plot, acreage, property, tract, chunk, portion, load, pack, body, crowd, band, clutch, company, collection, crew

Examples from the Web for parcel

Contemporary Examples of parcel

In contrast, SIX is clearly part and parcel of the Democratic establishment.
The Left’s Answer to ALEC
Ben Jacobs
December 15, 2014
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of parcel

Lizzie could not control her laughter when he said "parcel."
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
I have luckily deposited my parcel, and have your letter of last night.
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
When the parcel comes to your hands, as I hope it safely will, you will be pleased to open it.
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
If Robert take this without the parcel, pray let him return immediately for it.
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
I ought yesterday to have acknowledged the receipt of your parcel.
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for parcel

parcel

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

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.

"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