parietal
[puh-rahy-i-tl]
- 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.
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- 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.
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Origin of parietal
1590–1600; < Late Latin parietālis of, belonging to walls, equivalent to Latin pariet- (stem of pariēs) wall + -ālis -al1
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for parietal
Historical Examples
In this instance an occipital lesion was associated with the parietal.
Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900George Henry Makins
Nations where it is in the parietal diameter are called brakhykephalic.
The Natural History of the Varieties of ManRobert Gordon Latham
This was in 1879, long before the discovery of parietal art in France.
Men of the Old Stone AgeHenry Fairfield Osborn
Parietal (placent, &c.), attached to the walls (parietes) of the ovary.
The Elements of BotanyAsa Gray
In this case the ovary is unilocular, and the placentas are parietal.
parietal
- 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
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- a parietal bone
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for 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).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
parietal
(pə-rī′ĭ-tl)- Relating to or forming the wall of any cavity.
- Of or relating to either of the parietal bones.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.