parallel

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   being everywhere equidistant and not intersecting

   parallel lines never converge

2. 2
   adj

   of or relating to the simultaneous performance of multiple operations

   parallel processing

3. 3
   noun

   (mathematics) one of a set of parallel geometric figures (parallel lines or planes)

   parallels never meet

4. 4
   verb

   make or place parallel to something

   They paralleled the ditch to the highway

5. 5
   verb

   be parallel to

   Their roles are paralleled by ours

6. 6
   adj

   Equally distant from one another at all points.

   The horizontal lines on my notebook paper are parallel.

7. 7
   adj

   Having the same overall direction; the comparison is indicated with "to".

   The two railway lines are parallel.

8. 8
   adj

   Involving the processing of multiple tasks at the same time.

   a parallel algorithm

Etymology

From Middle French parallèle and its etymon Latin parallēlus, parallēlos. The verb is from the noun. By surface analysis, par- + all- + -el.