parable

英文词源

parable

parable: [14] The etymological idea underlying parable is of ‘drawing analogies’. It comes via Old French parabole and Latin parabola from Greek parabolé, a derivative of parabállein. This was a compound verb formed from pará ‘beside’ and bállein ‘throw’ (source of English ballistic [18]). It meant ‘put beside’, hence ‘compare’.

Its derived noun parabolé was used for a ‘comparison’ or ‘analogy’, and hence in the Christian tradition for an ‘allegorical or moral narrative’. The geometrical sense of the term, acquired by English directly from Latin as parabola [16], comes from the notion of ‘comparability’ or ‘parallelism’ between the section of a cone that forms the parabola and an element in the cone’s surface.

Etymologically the same word is parole [17], which reached English via Vulgar Latin *paraula and Old French parole ‘word’. Its use for ‘conditional release’ is based on the notion of the prisoner giving his ‘word of honour’ to be of good behaviour.
=> ballistic, palaver, parabola, parliament, parole

parable (n.)

mid-13c., parabol, modern form from early 14c., "saying or story in which something is expressed in terms of something else," from Old French parable "parable, parabolic style in writing" (13c.), from Latin parabola "comparison," from Greek parabole "a comparison, parable," literally "a throwing beside," hence "a juxtaposition," from para- "alongside" (see para- (1)) + bole "a throwing, casting, beam, ray," related to ballein "to throw" (see ballistics).

Replaced Old English bispell. In Vulgar Latin, parabola took on the meaning "word," hence Italian parlare, French parler "to speak" (see parley (n.)).