parable.
A short narrative illustrating a lesson (usually religious/moral) by comparison or analogy.
Meaning & usage
A short narrative illustrating a lesson (usually religious/moral) by comparison or analogy.
In the New Testament the parables told by Jesus Christ convey His message, as in "The parable of the prodigal son".
Catholic homilies normally draw on at least one Biblical lecture, often parables.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- Proto-Hellenic *pərai Ancient Greek πᾰρᾰ́ (părắ) Ancient Greek παρα- (para-) Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-der. Proto-Hellenic *gʷəlnō Ancient Greek βάλλω (bállō) Ancient Greek παραβάλλω (parabállō) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-ā́ Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā) Ancient Greek -η (-ē) Ancient Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ)bor. Late Latin parabolabor. Old French parabolebor. Middle English parable English parable From Middle English parable, from Old French parable, parabole, from Late Latin parabola, from Ancient Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ, “comparison”). Doublet of parabola, parole, and palaver.
To represent by parable.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- Proto-Hellenic *pərai Ancient Greek πᾰρᾰ́ (părắ) Ancient Greek παρα- (para-) Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-der. Proto-Hellenic *gʷəlnō Ancient Greek βάλλω (bállō) Ancient Greek παραβάλλω (parabállō) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-ā́ Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā) Ancient Greek -η (-ē) Ancient Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ)bor. Late Latin parabolabor. Old French parabolebor. Middle English parable English parable From Middle English parable, from Old French parable, parabole, from Late Latin parabola, from Ancient Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ, “comparison”). Doublet of parabola, parole, and palaver.
That can easily be prepared or procured; obtainable.
The most parable and easy, and about which many are employed, is to teach a school, turn lecturer or curate […].
Where this word comes from
From Latin parābilis, from parāre (“to prepare, procure”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.