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parergon

[pa-rur-gon]
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noun, plural par·er·ga [pa-rur-guh] /pæˈrɜr gə/.
  1. something that is an accessory to a main work or subject; embellishment.
  2. work undertaken in addition to one's principal work.
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Origin of parergon

1595–1605; < Greek párergon, noun use of neuter of párergos beside the main subject, subordinate, equivalent to par- par- + érg(on) work + -os adj. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for parergon

Historical Examples

  • Parergon, pa-rėr′gon, n. a by-work, any work subsidiary to another.

    Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R)

    Various

  • Sometimes this making or doing was their profession; sometimes it was a parergon carried on deliciously in leisure hours.

  • Ei d toutous ektrapomenos exelenchoimi, meizon an moi to parergon tou ergou genoito.

  • By 1595 the number of maps had increased to 119, including a Parergon or supplement of 12 maps illustrating ancient history.

British Dictionary definitions for parergon

parergon

noun plural -ga (-ɡə)
  1. work that is not one's main employment
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Word Origin

C17: from Latin, from Greek, from para- 1 + ergon work
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