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parliament
parish 'council n in Britain, a group of elected people which
manages the affairs of a PARISH, but has not as much power as
a DISTRICT COUNCIL
pa·rish·io·ner /'pærɪʃənə/ n a person living in a particular
PARISH, especially one who regularly attends the parish
church
,parish-'pump adj [A] BrE, often derog of local interest only:
parish-pump politics
,parish 'register n a large book, or a number of books, in
which are written details of all the births, deaths, and
marriages in a parish
Pa·ris·i·an /pə'rɪziən||pə'rɪʒən -'riː-/ adj coming from or
connected with Paris —Parisian n [C]
par·i·ty /'pærɪti/ n 1 [U(with)] the state or quality of being
equal, e.g. in level, position, amount etc: We have worked
hard to achieve parity with our commercial competi-
tors. 2 tech a system by which computer DATA sent from one
place to another can be tested for mistakes
park¹ /pɑːk||pɑːrk/ n 1 [C] a large usually grassy enclosed
piece of land in a town, used by the public for pleasure and
rest: children playing in the park | a park bench 2 [C] BrE a
large enclosed stretch of land with grass, trees etc, round a
large country house → compare PARKLAND 3 [the+S] BrE slang
a field on which especially professional SOCCER is played: the
best player on the park → see also AMUSEMENT PARK, BALL
PARK, CAR PARK, NATIONAL PARK, SCIENCE PARK, THEME PARK
park² v 1 [I;T] to put or place (a car or other vehicle) in a
particular place for a time: You're not allowed to park (the
car) in this street. | I'm parked over there. (=My car is parked
over there.) → see PARKING (USAGE) 2 [T+obj+adv/prep] infml to
leave or place (something or someone) in a particular
position for a certain time, often in a way that causes
annoyance: Don't park your books on top of my papers. | They
parked their children on us while they went shopping.
par·ka /'pɑːkə||'pɑːrkə/ n 1 a coat down to the knees with a
HOOD (=a protective cover) for the head, usually with fur
inside → compare ANORAK 2 especially AmE for ANORAK
,park and 'ride n [U] a system for reducing the number of
cars in city centres. You leave your car in a large car park just
outside the city and then take a special bus to the centre.
Par·ker, Char·lie /'pɑːkə ||'pɑːr-/ (1920-55) a US JAZZ musi-
cian and SAXOPHONE player, who was also known as 'Bird',
and who invented the BEBOP style of jazz with Dizzy
GILLESPIE
Parker, Dor·o·thy /'dɒrəθi||'dɔːr-/ (1893-1967) a US writer of
poetry and short stories, who also wrote REVIEWS of books,
plays etc for magazines such as The New Yorker. She was one
of the main members of the ALGONQUIN ROUND TABLE, a
group of writers who met regularly at a hotel in New York
City. She is remembered especially for her many clever and
funny sayings in which she criticized US society and well-
known people.
Parker, Sa·rah Jes·si·ca
/'særə 'dʒesɪkə/ (1965-) a US
television, theatre, and film
actor, best known for play-
ing the part of Carrie Brad-
shaw in the television
programme Sex and the City.
She has been in several films,
including The First Wives
Club.
Sarah Jessica Parker
Parker-Bowles,
Ca·mil·la
/ˌpɑːkə
'bəʊlz||pɑːr-
kə'mɪlə/
(1947-) a British woman who
had a love affair with Prince
Charles while both she and
Charles were married to
other people. Some people
did not want her to become Charles' wife because they
blamed her for causing the end of his marriage to Diana,
Princess of Wales, but they got married in 2005. She appears
with him at official events.
Park·hurst pris·on /ˌpɑːkhɜːst 'prɪzn||ˌpɑːrkhɜːrst-/ also
Parkhurst a British prison on the ISLE OF WIGHT for men
who have received long prison sentences for serious crimes
park·ing /'pɑːkɪŋ||'pɑːr-/ n [U] 1 the leaving of a car or
other vehicle in a particular place for a time 2 space in
which vehicles may be left like this: There is plenty of
parking behind the cinema.
USAGE You park (your car) in a car park BrE || parking
lot AmE or parking place. When it is standing there it is
parked. The signs Parking/No Parking mean 'Parking is
permitted/not permitted here'.
'parking ,brake n AmE a HANDBRAKE
'parking ,garage /||'.. ,../ n AmE for CAR PARK
'parking ,light n AmE for SIDELIGHT → see picture at CAR
'parking lot n AmE for CAR PARK
'parking ,meter n an apparatus at the side of a street, into
which one puts a coin to pay for parking a car beside it for a
certain time
'parking ,ticket n an official notice fixed to a vehicle by a
TRAFFIC WARDEN or a policeman, stating that the vehicle has
been parked in a way which is against the law, and that a
FINE will be made: He's had ten parking tickets this month,
and hasn't paid any of the fines yet.
Par·kin·son, Mi·chael /'pɑːkinsən||'pɑːr-/ (1935-) a British
newspaper writer and television presenter who had one of
the first CHAT SHOWS (=a television programme where
famous people are asked questions and talk about them-
selves) on British television in the 1970s. After a break of
several years, he returned to British television in 1998.
'Parkinson's dis·ease also Parkinson's n [U] a serious
disease that affects the brain, especially in older people, so
that they become very weak, cannot walk or lift things, and
their arms and legs shake
'Parkinson's ,law n [S] especially humor the idea that 'work
expands to fill the time available for its completion', mean-
ing that when you have a piece of work to do, the amount
of work increases so that it always uses up the time that you
have been allowed to do it in. The idea was invented by the
British writer Cyril Northcote Parkinson, who studied the
way organizations work.
'park ,keeper BrE || ,park 'ranger AmE — n a person who is
in charge of a park or whose job it is to help look after a park
park·land /'pɑːk-lænd||'pɑːrk-/ n [U] 1 BrE grassy land,
especially that surrounding a large country house, covering
a large area and having trees growing in it → compare
PARK 2 land used as or fit for use as a park
,Park 'Lane a wide street in central London between MARBLE
ARCH and HYDE PARK CORNER. It has buildings on one side
and Hyde Park on the other, and it is famous for its expensive
hotels and houses.
Parks, Ro·sa /pɑːks||pɑːrks, 'rəʊzə/ (1913-2005) an African-
American woman who became famous in 1955 because she
refused to give her seat on a bus to a white man. This action
was illegal in the US state of Alabama and she was ARRESTED
by the police. As a result Martin Luther KING persuaded
people not to use these buses, and in 1956 the US SUPREME
COURT said that SEGREGATION (=keeping black people sepa-
rate from white people) on buses was not legal. Rosa Parks'
action is therefore seen as an important event in the CIVIL
RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
park·way /'pɑːkwe||'pɑːrk-/ n especially AmE a wide road
divided by or bordered with an area of grass and trees
par·ky /'pɑːki||'pɑːrki/ adj BrE infml (of the air, weather etc)
rather cold
par·lance /'pɑːləns||'pɑːr-/ n [U] fml a particular manner of
speech or use of words: In naval parlance, a kitchen is a
'galley'. | In legal/common parlance
par·ley /'pɑːli||'pɑːrli/ n a talk, especially with an enemy or
other opponent, in order to make peace —parley v [I(with)]
par·lia·ment /'pɑːləmənt||'pɑːr-/ n (often cap.) 1 [C] (in some
countries) the main law-making body, made up of members
wholly or partly elected by the people of the country 2 (in
Britain) the main law-making body, consisting of both the
elected representatives of the people (the House of Com-
mons) and the House of Lords. When people talk about