par

Abbreviations

par

1. Abbreviation of paragraph.
   • 2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 419:

     And this particular Chisolm — as the papers had spelled out in headlines and opening pars — had been a soldier, a corporal in the British Army.

2. Abbreviation of parenthesis.
3. Abbreviation of parish.

par

1. Abbreviation of parallel.

Borrowed from French par (“through, by”), from Latin per (“through”). Doublet of per.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pɑː/
• (US) IPA^(key): /pɑɹ/, [pʰɑɹ], [pʰɑ˞]

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)
• Homophones: pa (non-rhotic); pah (“Maori fort”) (non-rhotic), paw (non-rhotic, cot–caught merger, father-bother merger)

par

1. (in compounds) By; with.

• Used frequently in Middle English in phrases taken from French, being sometimes written as a part of the word which it governs; as, par amour, or paramour; par cas, or parcase; par fay, or parfay.

Borrowed from Latin pār (“equal”).

par (countable and uncountable, plural pars)

1. Equal value; equality of nominal and actual value; the value expressed on the face or in the words of a certificate of value, as a bond or other commercial paper.
2. Equality of condition or circumstances.
4. (golf, mostly uncountable) The allotted number of strokes to reach the hole.

   He needs to make this shot for par.

5. (golf, countable) A hole in which a player achieves par.
   • 2009 January 18, “Paul Casey storms to four-stroke lead in Abu Dhabi”, in Herald Sun‎^[1]:

     Kaymer started with six straight pars before making a birdie on the seventh and an eagle on the eighth.

6. (UK) An amount which is taken as an average or mean.

(golf score):

• buzzard
• bogey
• birdie
• eagle
• albatross
• condor
• ostrich

par (third-person singular simple present pars, present participle parring, simple past and past participle parred)

1. (transitive, golf) To reach the hole in the allotted number of strokes.

   He will need to par every hole in order to win this game.

par (plural pars)

1. Alternative form of parr (“young salmon”).

Borrowed from Jamaican Creole, itself from partner.

par (third-person singular simple present pars, present participle parring, simple past and past participle parred)

1. (MLE, MTE) To associate, to chill, to hang.
   • 2007 May 21, “Sirens” (track 3), in Maths + English‎^[2], performed by Dizzee Rascal:

     Par with the hard heads and young offenders.

   • 2014 September 27, “Fire in the Booth”‎^[3]performed by Stormzy:

     I par with the best, this is bars in the flesh.

   • 2016 August 12, “Don't run” (track 2), in PARTYNEXTDOOR 3(PX3)‎^[4], performed by PARTYNEXTDOOR:

     Don't par wih a broke boy, I'll do the most.

• APR, ARP, Apr, Apr., Arp, PRA, RAP, RPA, Rap, apr, arp, rap

Borrowed from Portuguese para.

par

1. for
2. in order to

   par bali roko ― in order to buy tobacco

• D. Takaria, C. Pieter (1998) Kamus Bahasa Melayu Ambon-Indonesia‎^[5], Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa

From Latin pāreō. Compare Daco-Romanian părea, par.

• paru, ampar, apar, aparu

par first-singular present indicative (past participle pãrutã)

1. to seem, appear

• pãreari / pãreare
• pãrut

• undzescu

From Latin pālus. Compare Daco-Romanian par.

• paru

par

1. stake

• mpar

From Latin pār (“even, equal”). The sports usage is a Calque of English par.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈpar]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

par m or f (masculine and feminine plural pars)

1. (archaic) similar, equal
2. (mathematics) even

   Synonym: parell

   Antonym: senar

par m (plural pars)

1. (historical) peer
2. (golf) par

• a la par

• “par”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “par” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “par” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Inherited from Spanish par (“pair”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈpaɾ/, [ˈpaɾ]

par

1. pair

From late Old Danish par, from Middle Low German par, from Latin pār.

• IPA^(key): [ˈpʰɑ]
• Rhymes: -ar

par n (singular definite parret, plural indefinite par)

1. pair
2. couple

Borrowed from English par.

• IPA^(key): [ˈpʰɑː]

par c

1. (golf) par (the allotted number of strokes to reach the hole)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): [ˈpʰɑˀ]

par

1. imperative of parre

From late Old Norse par, from Middle Low German par, from Latin pār.

• IPA^(key): /pʰɛaːɹ/
• Rhymes: -ɛaːɹ

par n (genitive singular pars, plural pør)

1. pair

From Latin par.

par (feminine pare, masculine plural pars, feminine plural pares) (ORB, broad)

1. even, equal

• pair in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• par in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

Inherited from Middle French par, from Old French par, from Latin per, from Proto-Indo-European *peri.

• IPA^(key): /paʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: pars, part
• Rhymes: -aʁ

par

1. through

   par la fenêtre ― through the window

   aller par le parc ― go through the park

2. by (used to introduce a means; used to introduce an agent in a passive construction)

   voyager par train ― travel by train

   par surprise ― by surprise

   le bateau est attaqué par des pirates. ― the boat is [being] attacked by pirates.

3. over (used to express direction)

   Viens par ici ! ― Come over here!

4. from (used to describe the origin of something, especially a view or movement)

   voir par devant ― see from the back

   le liquide est arrivé par le robinet ― the liquid arrived from the tap

5. around, round (inside of)

   par tout le cinéma ― all around the cinema

6. on (situated on, used in certain phrases)

   par terre ― on the ground

7. on, at, in (used to denote a time when something occurs)

   par un beau jour ― on a nice day

   par un soir ― in one evening

8. in

   marcher par deux ― walk in twos

9. per, a, an

   trois fois par semaine ― three times a week

10. out of (used to describe the reason for something)

    par pure colère ― out of pure anger

    par tristesse ― out of sadness

11. for

• de par
• par ici
• par là
• par-ci, par-là

• → English: par

par m (plural pars)

1. (golf) par

• “par”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• rap

From Latin per.

par

1. for
2. through
3. by

• paar /paːr/, pa'r
• paara'

From Proto-Uto-Aztecan *pa.

par

1. water

• Kroeber, Shoshonean Dialects of California, in University of California Publications: American archaeology and ethnology, volume 4, page 81
• HG

par (invariable)

1. obsolete spelling of paar (“a few, couple”)

• IPA^(key): /pʰaːr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːr

Borrowed from Middle Low German par, from Latin pār (“equal”).

par n (genitive singular pars, nominative plural pör)

1. pair

   Synonym: tvenna

2. couple (two people who are dating)
3. (poker) pair

Borrowed from English par.

par n (genitive singular pars, no plural)

1. (golf) par

From Portuguese para, from Old Galician-Portuguese pera, from Latin per (“through”) + ad (“to”).

par

1. (Diu) to (indicates indirect object)
   • 1883, Hugo Schuchardt, Kreolische Studien, volume 3:

     Já fallou par su pai aquêl mais piquin, […]

     The youngest one told (literally: said to) his father […]

2. (Diu) for (indicates subject of an infinitive)
   • 1883, Hugo Schuchardt, Kreolische Studien, volume 3:

     Trasê tamêm um vaquinh bem gord e matá par nós comê e par nós regalá:

     Bring also a small and very fat cow and kill (it) for us to eat and for us to regale ourselves:

From Latin per.

par

1. for
2. through

• IPA^(key): /par/^[1]
• Rhymes: -ar
• Hyphenation: par

par

1. apocopic form of pare: third-person singular present indicative of parere

par m (apocopated)

1. apocopic form of paro (“pair”)

par m (apocopated)

1. apocopic form of pari (“peer”)

• pari in Bruno Migliorini et al., Dizionario d'ortografia e di pronunzia, Rai Eri, 2025

Clipping of partner.

par

1. To associate, to chill, to hang.
   • 2002 November 12, “Get Busy” (track 5), in Dutty Rock‎^[6], performed by Sean Paul:

     Yo, sexy ladies waan par wid us. Inna di car wid us, dem nah war wid us

     Yo, sexy ladies want to chill with us. In the car with us, they don't war with us.

   • 2007 January 1, “The Traffic Jam” (track 5), in Mind Control‎^[7], performed by Stephen Marley, Damian Marley, and Julian Marley:

     DAMIAN MARLEY:Cause him too par with we, we here when Demus show love

     Because he also associated with us, we were here when Chaka Demus showed love.

   • 2009 June 16, “No Cocaine” (track 2), in Escape From Babylon‎^[8], performed by Alborosie:

     Mi na go par with T.Montana neither Pablo Escobar

     I'm not going to hang out with Tony Montana or Pablo Escobar.

From Proto-Mayan *pahay.

par

1. skunk

• Brown, R. McKenna, Maxwell, Judith M., Little, Walter E. (2006) ¿La ütz awäch? Introduction to Kaqchikel Maya Language, Austin: University of Texas Press, page 237
• Ruyán Canú, Déborah, Coyote Tum, Rafael, Munson L., Jo Ann (1991) Diccionario cakchiquel central y español‎^[9] (in Spanish), Instituto Lingüístico de Verano de Centroamérica, page 180

Unclear. A traditional reconstruction is Proto-Indo-European *per(h₂)- (“to exchange”), comparing Ancient Greek πέρνημι (pérnēmi) etc. and Lithuanian pirkti; but this accounts badly for the /a(ː)/. De Vaan suggests *peh₂s- (“to watch (over), see?”), linking Latin pāreō.^[1] All possibilities nonetheless suffer semantic problems. Others refrain from assigning an Indo-European root.

If Umbrian pars (“prescribed”) is related, one can reconstruct an adjectival stem in Proto-Italic *par-.

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈpaːr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈpar]

pār (genitive paris, comparative parior, superlative parissimus, adverb pariter); third-declension one-termination adjective

1. even (of a number)
2. equal

   Synonyms: aequus, aequālis, compār, adaequātus

   Antonyms: dispār, inaequālis, impār, inīquus

   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.252–253:

     Hīc prīmum paribus nītēns Cyllēnius ālīs / cōnstitit; [...].

     Here first [at Mount Atlas, Mercury] the Cyllenian, alighting on equal wings, halted; [...].

3. like
4. suitable

Third-declension one-termination adjective.

pār m or f (genitive paris); third declension

1. companion, comrade, mate, spouse

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

pār n (genitive paris); third declension

1. pair, couple

Third-declension noun (neuter, pure i-stem).

• aequus
• similis

• “par”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “par”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

par (with accusative)

1. about, on
2. than
3. for (price)
4. as

Borrowed from Sicilian paru.

• IPA^(key): /paːr/

par m (plural pari)

1. couple, pair

From Old French par.

par

1. by (introduces an agent)
   • 1532, François Rabelais, Pantagruel:

     Comment Epistemon qui avoit la teste tranchée, fut guery habillement par Panurge.

     How Epistemon who had his head cut off was adroitly cured by Panurge

• French: par
  • → English: par

From *p- + *ar-, cognate with Avestan 𐬫𐬁𐬭𐬆- (yārə-, “year”), English year, all from Proto-Indo-European *yeh₁r- (“year”).

• IPA^(key): /pɑːɾ/

par f

1. share, part

par f

1. last year

par

1. last year

par n (definite singular paret, indefinite plural par, definite plural para or parene)

1. a pair

   et par sko ― a pair of shoes

2. a couple
3. a few (determiner)

   for et par dager siden ― a few days ago

• brudepar
• ektepar
• kongepar
• parvis

par n

1. (golf, uncountable) par

   ett slag under par ― one stroke under par

• IPA^(key): /paːr/, [pʰɐ̞ːr]

From Old Norse par, from Middle Low German par, from Latin paria (“equals”), neuter plural of pār. Akin to English pair.

par n (definite singular paret, indefinite plural par, definite plural para)

1. a pair

   eit par sko ― a pair of shoes

2. a couple
3. a few (determiner)

   for eit par dagar sidan ― a few days ago

• brudepar
• ektepar
• kongepar
• parvis

From English par.

par n

1. (golf, uncountable) par

   eitt slag under par ― one stroke under par

• “par” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Latin per.

par

1. by; via (introduces a medium)
   • c. 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:

     Tost m'oceïst par son orguel.

     Soon, he killed with his pride.

2. because of; due to (introduces a medium)
   • c. 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:

     Premiers sont au mostier venu,
     La furent par devocion

     The first ones came to the minster,
     they were there to pray

3. by
   • c. 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:

     L'une a l'autre par la main prise,

     They took each other by the hand

4. by; through; across
   • c. 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:

     Li cheval par le chanp s'an fuient.

     The horses fled through the field

5. by (introduces an exclamation)
   • c. 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:

     "Sire, par Deu et par sa croiz!

     "Sire! By God and by his cross!"

6. in (at a location)

• Middle French: par
  • French: par
    • → English: par
• Lorrain: poir
• Picard: per

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): /par/

par (Perso-Arabic spelling پر)

1. suddenly

• pras

• Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “par”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[10], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

• Rhymes: -ar
• Syllabification: par

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

par m inan

1. (Malbork) grass sprouting on a ploughed field

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

par

1. genitive plural of para
2. genitive plural of pary

• Dr Nadmorski (Józef Łęgowski) (1889) “par”, in “Spis wyrazów właściwych gwarze malborskiej i kociewskiej”, in Wisła. Miesięcznik Geograficzno-Etnograficzny (in Polish), volume 3 z.4, page 746

From Old Galician-Portuguese par, from Latin pār (“equal, like”), from Proto-Indo-European *per (“exchange”).

• Homophone: pá (non-rhotic accents)
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Hyphenation: par

par m (plural pares)

1. pair
2. partner
3. couple
4. peer
5. (golf) par

• grupo de pares

par m or f (plural pares, not comparable)

1. (mathematics) even

   Antonym: ímpar

• díspar
• ímpar
• paridade

Inherited from Latin per (“by means of”). Compare Italian per (“for; to; through”).

par

1. for
2. to

• Masotti, Adelmo (1996) Vocabolario Romagnolo Italiano [Romagnol-Italian dictionary] (in Italian), Bologna: Zanichelli, page 418

Inherited from Latin pālus (“stake”), from Proto-Italic *pākslos, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ-slos, from *peh₂ǵ-.

par m (plural pari)

1. stake
2. club, bat

• (diminutives): părișor, părugel, păruleț, păruș, părușor, părușteț

• împăra

• țeapă

Borrowed from Latin par.

par m or n (feminine singular pară, masculine plural pari, feminine and neuter plural pare)

1. (of an integer) even; divisible by two

   Antonym: impar

Form of părea.

par

1. inflection of părea:
   1. first-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. third-person plural present indicative

• IPA^(key): /par/

par

1. alternative form of pa', sometimes used before vowel sounds
   • 1989, Giovanni Maria Cherchi, “Dipididda [Parting]”, in La poesia di l'althri [The poetry of others] (overall work in Italian and Sassarese), Sassari: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, page 15:

     […] O me’ ziddài, digussì bedda
     e àipra, eu t’aggiu di dagà par eddu

     O town of mine, so beautiful and harsh, I'll have to leave you for it [destiny]

• Rubattu, Antoninu (2006) Dizionario universale della lingua di Sardegna, 2nd edition, Sassari: Edes

Borrowed from German Paar, from Latin par (“equal, like”).

• IPA^(key): /pâːr/

pȃr m inan (Cyrillic spelling па̑р)

1. pair, couple
2. (informal) few, handful, several

• pȃran

• IPA^(key): /pàːr/

pár m inan

1. pair
2. some, a couple (of)
3. couple (two partners)
4. (golf) par
5. (card games) (poker) pair

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nom. sing.	pár
gen. sing.	pára
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	pár	pára	pári
genitive (rodȋlnik)	pára	párov	párov
dative (dajȃlnik)	páru	pároma	párom
accusative (tožȋlnik)	pár	pára	páre
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	páru	párih	párih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	párom	pároma	pári

• (some): nekaj

Poker hands in Slovene · poker karte (layout · text)
najvišja karta	par	dva para	tris	lestvica, kenta
barva	full house	poker	barvna lestvica	kraljeva lestvica

• “par”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

Inherited from Latin pār (“equal, like”), from Proto-Indo-European *per (“exchange”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈpaɾ/ [ˈpaɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: par

par m or f (masculine and feminine plural pares)

1. even (divisible by two)

   Antonym: impar

par m (plural pares)

1. pair (two of the same or similar items that go together)

   un par de calcetines

   a pair of socks

2. couple (two of the same or similar items)

   bebí un par de cervezas

   I drank a couple of beers

3. (physics) two equal non-collinear forces; that is a force couple in Newtonian mechanics
4. peer (somebody who is, or something that is, at a level equal)
5. some, a few

par f (plural pares)

1. (finance) par (acceptable level)

• “par”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

• Audio:

  (file)

par n

1. a pair, a couple (either two or a few of something)
2. a couple, two people who are dating

• apr, rap

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈpaɾ/ [ˈpaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: par

par (Baybayin spelling ᜉᜇ᜔)

1. (colloquial) clipping of pare

par

1. stingray

• paro
• pèr

From Latin pār. Compare Italian paio.

par m (plural pari)

1. pair

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

par c (plural parren, diminutive parke)

1. pear

• “par”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011