Definition of PASSEL

Passel and Parcel

The loss of the sound of "r" after a vowel and before another consonant in the middle of a word is common in spoken English. This linguistic idiosyncrasy has given our language a few new words, such as cuss from curse, bust from burst, and our featured word passel from parcel. The spelling passel originated in the 15th century, but the word's use as a collective noun for an indefinite number is a 19th-century Americanism. It was common primarily in local-color writing before getting a boost in the 1940s, when it began appearing in popular weekly magazines such as Time, Newsweek, and Saturday Review.

Examples of passel in a Sentence

reporters had a whole passel of questions for the new basketball coach the young couple had a passel of babies in the span of a few years

Recent Examples on the Web

Each is available in lustrous black or indigo blue and decorates a passel of products, from teapots and coffee mugs to fruit bowls and dinner plates. — Sarah Medford, WSJ, "A New Transferware Collaboration From Ralph Lauren and Burleigh," 11 Dec. 2018 Photo: Issei Kato/Reuters Next week, Apple is expected to announce a new Apple Watch and AirPods along with a passel of new iPhones. — Christopher Mims, WSJ, "In Apple’s Third Act, the iPhone Plays Supporting Role," 6 Sep. 2018 It was nominated for the usual passel of Emmys in the summer of 1993. — Todd Vanderwerff, Vox, "The rise, fall, and unlikely return of Murphy Brown, explained," 27 Sep. 2018 Gone are the days when CC Sabathia or Carlos Beltran would change hands midseason with a passel of prospects coming back in return. — Tom Verducci, SI.com, "Nine Innings: How Bryce Harper Is Trying to Revive His Season, What We Learned in the First Half and More," 9 July 2018 Beijing then threatened 25% tariffs on U.S. soybeans shortly after the U.S. targeted a passel of Chinese goods for alleged violation of U.S. intellectual property laws. — Jesse Newman, WSJ, "Trump Looks to Assuage Trade Critics With Farm Package," 11 Apr. 2018 In its fourth year, the three-day music festival boasts major stars of the genre as well as a passel of up-and-coming acts. — Chrissie Dickinson, chicagotribune.com, "Country Lakeshake bringing the best, the brightest and everybody else," 19 June 2018 Instead, the kids politely stumbled their way through the passel of old gadgets, doggedly trying to figure out some of the technical challenges of the time. — Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, "Video: We force kids to confront ’80s technology," 24 Apr. 2018 LinkedIn is about to roll out a passel of features aimed at drawing people regularly. — Jay Greene, WSJ, "LinkedIn’s $27 Billion Challenge: Get People to Use It More," 16 Mar. 2018

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