Word of the Day : July 18, 2021

parry \PAIR-ee\ verb

Definition

1 : to ward off (something, such as a weapon or blow)

2 : to evade (something, such as a question) by an adroit answer

Did You Know?

Parry (which is used in fencing, as well as in other applications) was borrowed from French parer, meaning "to ward off" or "to avert," and may specifically have come directly from the plural imperative form of that word, parez. The French likely borrowed the word from Italian parare, meaning "to prepare, adorn, avert, shield, keep out." That word's source is Latin parāre, meaning "to supply, provide, make ready," an ancestor to many familiar English words, among them prepare, repair, emperor, separate, and apparatus.

Aired July 18, 2021

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