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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

parry.

To avoid, deflect, or ward off (an attack, a blow, an argument, etc.).

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈpæɹ.i/
  1. To avoid, deflect, or ward off (an attack, a blow, an argument, etc.).

Where this word comes from

From earlier parree, from Middle English *parree, *paree, from Old French paree (“preparation, ceremony, parade”), from Medieval Latin parāta (“preparation, parade”), from parāre (“to ward off, guard, defend, prepare, get ready”). More at pare. The English verb is taken from the noun. Doublet of parade. Alternative etymology derives the verb parry from French parez, the imperative form of parer (“to fend off”), ultimately from the Medieval Latin parāre. See above.

noun/ˈpæɹ.i/
  1. A defensive or deflective action; an act of parrying.

  2. A simple defensive action designed to deflect an attack, performed with the forte of the blade.

  3. A defensive move intended to change the direction of an incoming strike to make it miss its intended target, rather than block and absorb it; and typically performed with an open hand in a downward or sideways slapping motion.

Where this word comes from

From earlier parree, from Middle English *parree, *paree, from Old French paree (“preparation, ceremony, parade”), from Medieval Latin parāta (“preparation, parade”), from parāre (“to ward off, guard, defend, prepare, get ready”). More at pare. The English verb is taken from the noun. Doublet of parade. Alternative etymology derives the verb parry from French parez, the imperative form of parer (“to fend off”), ultimately from the Medieval Latin parāre. See above.

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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.