parietal

American  

[puh-rahy-i-tl] / pəˈraɪ ɪ tl /

adjective

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

2. Biology. of or relating to parietes or structural walls.

3. 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.

4. 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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noun

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

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

parietal British  

/ pəˈraɪɪtəl /

adjective

1. anatomy biology of, relating to, or forming the walls or part of the walls of a bodily cavity or similar structure

   the parietal bones of the skull

2. of or relating to the side of the skull

3. (of plant ovaries) having ovules attached to the walls

4. living or having authority within a college

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noun

1. a parietal bone

Other Word Forms

• interparietal adjective
• subparietal adjective
• transparietal adjective

Etymology

Origin of parietal

1590–1600; < Late Latin parietālis of, belonging to walls, equivalent to Latin pariet- (stem of pariēs ) wall + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

During the experiment, an electrical current was applied to the frontal and parietal areas of the brain - situated at the front and towards the back.

From BBC • Feb. 12, 2026

But we also have the insula, which processes risk, including the risk of social ostracization—to which the parietal cortex makes us extremely sensitive.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025

In another study, a research team found that parts of infants’ brains in charge of shifting attention in the frontal parietal cortex were activated in infants as young as three months old.

From Salon • May 7, 2025

These include the parietal cells of the stomach, which secrete protons into the stomach -- i.e. produce gastric acid.

From Science Daily • May 14, 2024

In the 1970s, for instance, researchers used microelectrodes to hone in on a key part of the brain—called the parietal lobe—crucial to shifts in attention.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel