Parity

Parity
Parity Par"i*ty, n. [L. paritas, fr. par, paris, equal: cf. F. parit['e]. See {Pair}, {Peer} an equal.] 1. The quality or condition of being equal or equivalent; a like state or degree; equality; equivalence; close correspondence; analogy; as, parity of reasoning. ``No parity of principle.'' --De Quincey. [1913 Webster]

Equality of length and parity of numeration. --Sir T. Browne. [1913 Webster]

2. Specifically: (Finance) Equivalence in value to the currency of another country. [PJC]

3. (Physics) A property assigned to elementary particles, conceptualized as a form of symmetry, representing the fact that no fundamental distinctions can be observed between right-handed and left-handed systems of particles in their interactions, and supported by the typical observation that the total parity of a system is unchanged as particles are created or annihilated; however, certain interactions involving the weak force have been shown to violate the principle of conservation of parity. [PJC]

4. (Physics) A property of the wave function of a system, which takes the value of +1 or -1, indicating whether the value of the wave function changes sign if each of the variables of the system is replaced by its negative. [PJC]

5. (Med.) The condition of having borne a child or children, alive or dead. [PJC]

6. (Math.) The property of being even or odd; as, 3 has odd parity, but 6 has even parity. [PJC]

7. Hence: (Computers) The property of having an even or odd number of bits set to the value of 1 (as opposed to 0); -- applied to bytes or larger groups of bits in a data structure. It is used mostly in the process of {parity checking}. The parity of a data structure can be changed by changing the value of the {parity bit}. [PJC]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Parity — is a concept of equality of status or functional equivalence. It has several different specific definitions.* Parity (physics), the name of the symmetry of interactions under spatial inversion * Parity (mathematics) indicates whether a number is… …   Wikipedia

  • parity — I noun alikeness, analogy, approximation, balance, close correspondence, coequality, comparability, comparison, correlation, correspondence, equability, equality, equation, equilibrium, equipoise, equivalence, equivalency, identical value,… …   Law dictionary

  • parity — parity. Факт рождения ребенка; используется как количественный показатель при описании родословных <pedigree>: 0 живых детей нет (независимо от количества беременностей), 1, 2 и т.д. число родов (независимо от числа родившихся детей).… …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • parity — (n.) 1570s, equality of rank or status, from M.Fr. parité, from L.L. paritas equality, from L. adj. par (gen. paris) equal (see PAIR (Cf. pair) (n.)). Meaning condition in which adversaries have equal resources is from 1955, originally in… …   Etymology dictionary

  • parity — [n] equality, balance adequation, affinity, agreement, analogy, approximation, closeness, coequality, conformity, congruity, consistency, correspondence, equal terms, equivalence, equivalency, likeness, nearness, par, parallelism, paraphernalia,… …   New thesaurus

  • parity — ► NOUN 1) equality or equivalence. 2) Mathematics the fact of being an even or an odd number. ORIGIN Latin paritas, from par equal …   English terms dictionary

  • parity — parity1 [par′ə tē] n. pl. parities [Fr parité < L paritas < par, equal: see PAR1] 1. the state or condition of being the same in power, value, rank, etc.; equality 2. resemblance; similarity 3. equivalence in value of one currency expressed …   English World dictionary

  • parity — For convertibles, level at which a convertible security s market price equals the aggregate value of the underlying common stock; value/worth of the convertible bond considered only as an equity instrument ( conversion ratio times common price).… …   Financial and business terms

  • parity — parity1 /par i tee/, n. 1. equality, as in amount, status, or character. 2. equivalence; correspondence; similarity; analogy. 3. Finance. a. equivalence in value in the currency of another country. b. equivalence in value at a fixed ratio between …   Universalium

  • parity —    In communications, a simple form of error checking that uses an extra or redundant bit after the data bits but before the stop bit or bits. Parity may be set as follows:    • Odd    Indicates that the sum of all the 1 bit is set to zero; if it …   Dictionary of networking

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