parietal

[puh-rahy-i-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.

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for parietal

Historical Examples of parietal

In this instance an occipital lesion was associated with the parietal.
Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900
George Henry Makins
Nations where it is in the parietal diameter are called brakhykephalic.
The Natural History of the Varieties of Man
Robert Gordon Latham
This was in 1879, long before the discovery of parietal art in France.
Men of the Old Stone Age
Henry Fairfield Osborn
Parietal (placent, &c.), attached to the walls (parietes) of the ovary.
The Elements of Botany
Asa Gray
In this case the ovary is unilocular, and the placentas are parietal.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5
Various

British Dictionary definitions for parietal

parietal

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

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).

parietal in Medicine

parietal

[pə-rī′ĭ-tl]

adj.

Relating to or forming the wall of any cavity.
Of or relating to either of the parietal bones.