Main Entry:

pa·ren·the·sis

Pronunciation:

\pə-ˈren(t)-thə-səs\

Function:

noun

Inflected Form(s):

plural pa·ren·the·ses \-ˌsēz\

Etymology:

Late Latin, from Greek, literally, act of inserting, from parentithenai to insert, from para- + en- en- + tithenai to place — more at do

Date:

circa 1550

1 a: an amplifying or explanatory word, phrase, or sentence inserted in a passage from which it is usually set off by punctuation b: a remark or passage that departs from the theme of a discourse : digression2: interlude, interval3: one or both of the curved marks ( ) used in writing and printing to enclose a parenthetical expression or to group a symbolic unit in a logical or mathematical expression

— par·en·thet·i·cal \ˌper-ən-ˈthe-ti-kəl, pa-rən-\ also par·en·thet·ic \-tik\ adjective

— par·en·thet·i·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb