PAR 
in different places; being ufually thirty, fometimes forty, 
and fometimes fixty, ftadia or furlongs. Cafaubon cites 
a fragment of the architeft Julian, who fays, that the 
molt common meafure of the parafang, in his time-, was 
forty ftadia; and, reckoning each ftadium at 125 geome¬ 
trical paces, they would hereby avoid fra6tions in the 
computation of diftances; 40 ftadia, of 125 paces each, 
making 5000 Roman paces. 
The farlang, at a mean, (fays major Rennell,) was 
little fhort of 3! Britifh miles. The parafanga of Xeno¬ 
phon was no more than 3 Roman miles, or 278 Britifh. 
Herodotus and Xenophon fay, that the parafanga con- 
iifted of 30 ftadia; and, as thefe maybe fuppofed to have 
been of the Grecian itinerary ftandard, the parafanga 
would be equal to 27 Britifh miles, or ^ only longer 
than that of Anabafis. Rennell's Illujlration of the Expe¬ 
dition of Cyrus. 
PARASAO'LI, a town of Hindooftan, in the circar of 
Jyenagur-. fifteen miles north-north-eaft of Jyepour, and 
eighty-five weft of Agra. Lat. 27.10. N. Ion. 76.48. E. 
PARASCE'NIUM, J\ [from the Gr. rra^a., beyond, 
and o-y-yvri, a fcene.] The back part of the ftage in the 
Grecian and Roman theatres, whither the aftors withdrew 
to drefs and undrefs. The Romans more frequently 
called it poflfccnium. 
PARASCE'VE, [Greek.] The fixth day of the left 
week of Lent, popularly called Good Friday. St. John 
fays, our Saviour was crucified on the parafceve of the 
Paflover, i. e. on the eve or day of preparation of the 
Pafiover : for Ifidore and Papias obferve, that the word 
in the original Greek fignifies preparation , and was ap¬ 
plied among the Jews to Friday, becaufe on that day they 
ufed to prepare what was necelTary for the celebration of 
the Sabbath. Exod. xv. 23. xxxv. 2, 3. Hence, what our 
tranflation of the New Teftament renders “ preparation 
of the fabbath,” M. Simon and fome others call parafceve. 
—It was the preparation; that is, the day before the 
fabbath. Mark xv. 42.—It was the parafceve, which is, 
the fabbath-eve. Ibid. Rliemijh Tranflation. —And hence 
the word is ufed to fignify any lolemn preparation.—■ 
Why rather, being entering into that prefence, where I 
fhall wake continually.and never fleep more, do I not in¬ 
terpret my continual waking here to be a parafceue 
and a preparation to that. Donne's Devot. 1624. 
PARASCEUAS'TIC, adj. Preparatory.—Touching the 
Latin and Greek, and thofe other learned languages, 
they are the parafceuajlick part of learning. Corah's 
Doom, 1672. 
PAR'ASCHE, f [from Heb. to divide.] A name 
which the Jews give to that portion of the Pentateuch 
which they read every fabbath. They divide their five 
books of the Law, not into chapters, as we do, but into 
fifty-four parts, which they call parafche; and thus go 
through the whole in a year. To thefe they have added 
fome verfes of the Prophets, which they made ufe of 
under the perfecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, when 
they were prohibited the ufe of the Law. 
PARASCHI'DES, f. A word ufed by chirurgical 
writers to exprefs the iplinters of fractured bones, or the 
fragments of bones corroded by (harp humours. 
PARASEL'ENE, J'. [from the Gr. srapa, near, and 
moon.] A mock-moon ; a meteor encompafiing 
or adjacent to the moon, in form of a luminous ring; in 
which are fometimes obferved one, fometimes two, ap¬ 
parent images of the moon.—The parafelenes are formed 
after the lame manner as the parhelia, or mock-funs, by 
reflections of the moon from zones of denfe vapours that 
happen to be collected in the Iky. Chambers. 
PARASE'MON, f [Greek.] Among the ancients, a 
fign painted or carved on the prow of (hips, by which 
they were diftinguiflied from one another. The fign was 
commonly the figure or picture of fome animal, as the 
bull, lion, &c. or of any other thing, as a mountain, 
tree, flower, &c. 
PAR'ASITE, / [Fr. from parafltus, Lat.] One that 
PAR 419 
frequents rich tables, and earns his welcome by flattery. 
—Diogenes, when mice came about him as he was eat¬ 
ing, faid, I fee that even Diogenes nourilheth parajites. 
Bacon. 
Moft finding, fmooth, detefted, parafites, 
Courteous deftroyers, affable wolves, meek bears. Shakejp. 
Parasite, among the Greeks, was originally a very 
reputable title; the parafites being a kind of priefts, at 
lead minifters of the gods, in the fame manner as the 
epulones were at Rome. They took care of the facred 
corn, or the corn deftined for the fervice of the temples 
and the gods, viz. facrifices, feafts, &c. hence their name, 
from Trctfa,, near, and tnro?, corn. They had even the 
intendance over facrifices ; and took care that they were 
duly performed. At Athens there was a kind of college 
of twelve parafites; each people of Attica furnifhing one, 
who was always chofen out of the beft families. Polybius 
adds, that a parafite was alfo an honourable title among 
the ancient Gauls, and was given to their poets. 
PARASITE'UM, f Among the ancients, a granary or 
place where the facred corn, defigned for religious pur- 
pofes, was preferved. See Parasite. 
PARASIT'IC, or Parasitical, adj. Flattering; 
wheedling.—Some parafitick preachers have dared to call 
thofe martyrs, who died fightingagainft me. King- Charles. 
—Applied to plants, which live on others, being produced 
upon the trunks, branches, or roots, of other plants ; and 
which, in fome inftances, will not take their growth in 
the ground ; as in the cafes of mifletoe, various moffes, 
and the fungus tribe in general, but not always.—Ivy is 
a parajitic plant. Miller. 
PARASIT'ICALLY, adv. In a flattering manner.— 
The courtiers alfo, to applaud the fa£t, par aji tic ally made 
him their common mark. Sir T. Herbert's Trav. ? 
PAR ASIT'ICALNESS, J. The ftate orquality of being 
parafitical. Scott. 
PAR'ASITISM, f. The behaviour of a parafite.— 
Their high notion, we rather believe, falls as low as court 
parafitifm; fuppofing all men to be fervants but the king. 
Milton's Obf. on the Articles of Peace. 
PARA'SO, a town of France, in the department of 
Golo, (or Ifle of Corfica,) and chief place of a canton, in 
the diftrift of Calvi. The canton contains 2471 in¬ 
habitants. 
PARASO'L, f [French.] A fmall canopy or umbrella 
carried over the head, to (helter from rain and the heat 
of the fun. Dr. Jolmfon. —Mr. Mafon, after his manner, 
fneers at Dr. Johnfon for confounding the parafol with 
the umbrella; informing us, that umbrellas against rain 
are of different materials and fize from mere parafols, the 
ufe of which (according to their name) is only againft 
the fun. This is true enough of the little female orna¬ 
ment of modern times ; but Mr. Mafon knew nothing of 
the old parafol, (for he alfo could find no inftance of the 
word,) which was called an umbrella, and was of a reafon- 
able umbrella fize, we may judge from the following ex¬ 
ample; though certainly its ufe may have been intended 
to guard againft the fun. Todd. —While the world is all 
on fire around them, they journey through that torrid 
zone, with their mighty parafol, or umbrella, over their 
heads, and are all the while in the (hade. Abp. San- 
croft's Sermons.—Parafol is from the French parer, to 
guard againft, and fol, foleil, the fun. The oppofite is 
parapluie, a (helter againft rain ; though the latter word is 
not yet received among us, fince our parapluie is called 
an umbrella, or little (hade. MS. Gleanings in Etymology. 
PARASO'LE (Leonardo,) whofe proper name was 
Norsini, but who aflumed that of Parafole, from its 
being the family-name of his wife, was born at Rome in 
the year 1570, and died in the fame city at the age of 
fixty. He was an engraver on wood of fome merit, and 
was much employed by A. Tempefta. At the command 
of pope Sixtus V. he engraved the plants, &c. for the 
Herbal of Caftor Durante, the phyfician of that pontiff. 
The 
