parietal

adjective pa·ri·e·tal \ pə-ˈrī-ə-tᵊl \

|Updated on: 28 Apr 2018

Definition of parietal

1 a : of or relating to the walls of a part or cavity

b : of, relating to, or located near or within the parietal bone or parietal lobe of the head

2 : attached to the main wall rather than the axis or a cross wall of a plant ovary —used of an ovule or a placenta

3 dated : of or relating to college living or its regulation; especially : of or relating to parietals (see ²parietal 2)

All of this takes place in a residential environment no longer constrained by the parietal hours that the older set of today's parents will recall. One of the signature changes in the student revolt of the late sixties/early seventies was the end not only of curfew hours for residence halls but also of housing separated by sex.
—Barrett Seaman

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Recent Examples of parietal from the Web

When the study subjects who had pledged to spend money made generous picks, the fM.R.I. scans showed greater activity in a portion of the brain, the temporo-parietal junction, associated with altruism.

— gretchen reynolds, New York Times, "Giving Proof," 14 Sep. 2017
Neuroimaging research suggests that dialogue in a story activates a part of the brain known as the right temporo-parietal junction, a key region for what’s called theory of mind, or the ability to attribute mental and emotional states to others.

— malia wollan, New York Times, "How to Read Aloud to Children," 16 June 2017
H2 blockers stop the action of histamine, which stimulates parietal cells to produce hydrochloric acid.

— bradley j. fikes, chicagotribune.com, "Popular stomach acid blockers linked to higher death rates," 3 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'parietal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Fifteenth-century scientists first used "parietal" (from Latin paries, meaning "wall of a cavity or hollow organ") to describe a pair of bones of the roof of the skull between the frontal and posterior bone. Later, "parietal" was also applied to structures connected to or found in the same general area as these bones; the parietal lobe, for example, is the middle division of each hemisphere of the brain. In the 19th century, botanists adopted "parietal" as a word for ovules and placentas attached to the walls of plant ovaries. It was also in the 19th century that "parietal" began to be heard on college campuses, outside of the classroom; in 1837, Harvard College established the Parietal Committee to be in charge of "all offences against good order and decorum within the walls."