parietal

[ puh-rahy-i-tl ]

/ pəˈraɪ ɪ tl /

adjective

Anatomy. of, relating to, or situated near the side and top of the skull or the parietal bone.

Biology. of or relating to parietes or structural walls.

Botany. pertaining to or arising from a wall: usually applied to ovules when they proceed from or are borne on the walls or sides of the ovary.

pertaining to or having authority over residence, and especially visitation regulations between the sexes, within the walls or buildings of a college or university: a listing of the parietal regulations for the law students' dormitory.

noun

Anatomy. any of several parts in the parietal region of the skull, especially the parietal bone.

parietals. Also called parietal rules. campus regulations governing visits between members of opposite sexes to each other's dormitories or rooms.

Nearby words

parian, parian ware, parica, paricutín, paries, parietal, parietal bone, parietal cell, parietal emissary vein, parietal endocarditis, parietal eye

Origin of parietal

1590–1600; < Late Latin parietālis of, belonging to walls, equivalent to Latin pariet- (stem of pariēs) wall + -ālis -al¹

Related formsin·ter·pa·ri·e·tal, adjectivesub·pa·ri·e·tal, adjectivetrans·pa·ri·e·tal, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for parietal

Hence the structure of the radius is essentially the same with that of the parietal portion of the compartment.
A Monograph on the Sub-class Cirripedia (Volume 2 of 2)|Charles Darwin
The discharge of such centers means particularly the passage of excitations on to the parietal localization-centers.
Harvard Psychological Studies, Volume 1|Various
It arises from the parietal crest, and is inserted into the internal surface of the concha.
Artistic Anatomy of Animals|douard Cuyer
The effacement, more or less complete, of the parietal or parieto-occipital sutures in a large number of criminals.
A Plea for the Criminal|James Leslie Allan Kayll

The squamosal is attached dorsoventrally to the posterior part of the parietal and to the lateral part of the prootic.
A Revision of Snakes of the Genus Conophis (Family Colubridae, from Middle America)|John Wellman

British Dictionary definitions for parietal

parietal

/ (pəˈraɪɪtəl) /

adjective

anatomy biology of, relating to, or forming the walls or part of the walls of a bodily cavity or similar structurethe parietal bones of the skull

of or relating to the side of the skull

(of plant ovaries) having ovules attached to the walls

US living or having authority within a college

noun

a parietal bone

Word Origin for parietal

C16: from Late Latin parietālis, from Latin pariēs wall

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 parietal

parietal

adj.

early 15c., "pertaining to the walls of a cavity in the body," from Late Latin parietalis "of walls," from Latin paries (genitive parietis) "wall" (of a building), of unknown origin. In U.S. also "pertaining to the residents and rules of a college or university" (1837).

Medicine definitions for parietal

parietal

[ pə-rī′ĭ-tl ]

adj.

Relating to or forming the wall of any cavity.

Of or relating to either of the parietal bones.