Para (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

noun, plural pa·ras, pa·ra.
  1. a coin and monetary unit of Macedonia and Serbia, one 100th of a dinar.
  2. formerly, a coin and monetary unit of Yugoslavia, one 100th of a dinar.
noun, plural pa·ras, pa·ra.
  1. a former copper coin of Turkey, the 40th part of a piaster.
adjective Chemistry.
  1. pertaining to or occupying two positions (1, 4) in the benzene ring that are separated by two carbon atoms.
noun
  1. para-dichlorobenzene.
noun Informal.
  1. paraprofessional.
  2. paratrooper.
  3. paragraph.
noun, plural par·as, par·ae [par-ee]. /ˈpær i/. Obstetrics.
  1. a woman's status regarding the bearing of viable offspring: usually followed by a Roman numeral designating the number of times the woman has given birth.
  2. the woman herself.
  1. a prefix appearing in loanwords from Greek, most often attached to verbs and verbal derivatives, with the meanings “at or to one side of, beside, side by side” (parabola; paragraph; parallel; paralysis), “beyond, past, by” (paradox; paragogue); by extension from these senses, this prefix came to designate objects or activities auxiliary to or derivative of that denoted by the base word (parody; paronomasia), and hence abnormal or defective (paranoia), a sense now common in modern scientific coinages (parageusia; paralexia). As an English prefix, para-1 may have any of these senses; it is also productive in the naming of occupational roles considered ancillary or subsidiary to roles requiring more training, or of a higher status, on such models as paramedical and paraprofessional: paralegal; paralibrarian; parapolice.
  2. a combining form designating the para (1, 4) position in the benzene ring.Abbreviation: p-.
  1. a combining form meaning “guard against,” occurring in loanwords from French, or, via French, from Italian: parachute; parasol.
  1. a combining form extracted from parachute, forming compounds denoting persons or things utilizing parachutes or landed by parachute: paradrop; paradoctor; paraglider; paratrooper.
noun
  1. an estuary in N Brazil: an arm of the Amazon. 200 miles (320 km) long; 40 miles (65 km) wide.
  2. Belém.
  3. Pará rubber.
abbreviation
  1. Paraguay.
noun plural -ras or -ra
  1. a monetary unit of Serbia worth one hundredth of a dinar; formerly a monetary unit of Yugoslavia
noun informal
    • a soldier in an airborne unit
    • an airborne unit
  1. a paragraph
noun plural para
  1. a New Zealand fern, Marattia salicina, with long heavy fronds
prefix
  1. beside; near
  2. beyond
  3. resembling
  4. defective; abnormal
  5. subsidiary to
  6. denoting that an organic compound contains a benzene ring with substituents attached to atoms that are directly opposite across the ring (the 1,4- positions)
  7. denoting an isomer, polymer, or compound related to a specified compound
  8. denoting the form of a diatomic substance in which the spins of the two constituent atoms are antiparallel
combining form
  1. indicating an object that acts as a protection against something
noun
  1. a state of N Brazil, on the Atlantic: mostly dense tropical rainforest Capital: Belém. Pop: 6 453 683 (2002). Area: 1 248 042 sq km (474 896 sq miles)
  2. another name for Belém
  3. an estuary in N Brazil into which flow the Tocantins River and a branch of the Amazon. Length: about 320 km (200 miles)
Para (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

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