Etymology : probably from French parez, imperative of parer to parry, from Old Provençal parar, from Latin parare to prepare; more at PARE
Pronunciation : 'par-E
Function : verb
Date : 1672
1. warding off, repulsion; evasion, avoidance. ward off, turn away, repulse; evade, avoid, dodge. parry\par"ry\, v. i. to ward off, evade, or turn aside something, as a blow, argument, etc.parry \par"ry\, n.; pl. parries . a warding off of a thrust or blow, as in sword and bayonet exercises or in boxing; hence, figuratively, a defensive movement in debate or other intellectual encounter.parry \par"ry\ , v. t. [imp. & p. p. parried ; p. pr. & vb. n. parrying.] [f. paré, p. p. of parer. see:
pare, v. t.].
2. to ward off; to stop, or to turn aside; as, to parry a thrust, a blow, or anything that means or threatens harm. vice parries wide the undreaded volley with a sword of straw.
3. to avoid; to shift or put off; to evade. the french government has parried the payment of our claims. everett.parry a return punch [syn: counterpunch, counter] v.
4. impede the movement of (an opponent or a ball), as in sports or fights; "block an attack" [syn: block, deflect].
5. avoid or try to avoid, as of duties, questions and issues; "he dodged the issue" [syn: hedge, fudge, evade, put off , circumvent, elude, skirt, dodge, duck, sidestep].
6. To ward off; to stop, or to turn aside; as, to parry a thrust, a blow, or anything that means or threatens harm.
7. To avoid; to shift or put off; to evade.
8. To ward off, evade, or turn aside something, as a blow, argument, etc.
9. A warding off of a thrust or blow, as in sword and bayonet exercises or in boxing; hence, figuratively, a defensive movement in debate or other intellectual encounter. impede the movement of ; "block an attack".
10. 1. If you parry a question or argument, you cleverly avoid answering it or dealing with it. In an awkward press conference, Mr King parried questions on the allegations. = counter.
11. If you parry a blow from someone who is attacking you, you push aside their arm or weapon so that you are not hurt. I did not want to wound him, but to restrict myself to defence, to parry his attacks I parried, and that's when my sword broke. = deflect. British navigator who commanded three expeditions in search of the Northwest Passage (1819-1820, 1821-1823, and 1824-1825).