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parable

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parable¹

  • /ˈpaɹəbəl/ UK
  • /ˈpæɹ.ə.bəl/ US
  • /ˈpɛɹ.ə.bəl/ US

Rhymes with -æɹəbəl

Where it comes from

From Middle English parable, from Old French parable, parabole, from Late Latin parabola, from Ancient Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ, “comparison”). Doublet of parabola, parole, and palaver.

noun parables

  1. rhetoric A short narrative illustrating a lesson (usually religious/moral) by comparison or analogy. In the New Testament the parables told by Jesus Christ convey His message, as in "The parable of the prodigal son".

    Similar: exemplum

verb parables · parabling · parabled

  1. transitive To represent by parable. Which by the ancient sages was thus parabled.

parable²

  • /ˈpaɹəbəl/ UK
  • /ˈpæɹ.ə.bəl/ US
  • /ˈpɛɹ.ə.bəl/ US

Rhymes with -æɹəbəl

Where it comes from

From Latin parābilis, from parāre (“to prepare, procure”).

adjective more parable · most parable

  1. obsolete That can easily be prepared or procured; obtainable. The most parable and easy, and about which many are employed, is to teach a school, turn lecturer or curate […].

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: allegory, apologue, fable, story, man, satellite, dish, exemplum, analogy, illustration, myth, legend, homily, yarn, lesson, moral

Translations

Every language

noun short story illustrating a lesson

Españolparábola
日本語寓話 gūwa, 譬え話 tatoebanashi, 比喩 hiyu
中文譬語 /譬语 pìyǔ, 隱語 /隐语 yǐnyǔ, 諷喻 /讽喻 fěngyù, 寓言 yùyán
हिन्दीदृष्टांत dŕṣṭānt
Portuguêsparábola
Françaisparabole
DeutschGleichnis, Gleichniserzählung, Gleichnisrede, Parabel
Italianoparabola
Ελληνικάπαραβολή paravolí
Русскийпри́тча prítča, иносказа́ние inoskazánije
עבריתמָשָׁל mashál

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MLA

"parable." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/parable. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

parable. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/parable

Chicago

"parable." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/parable.

BibTeX
@misc{parable_2026,
  title = {parable},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/parable},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}