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pa·role (pə-rōl)
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n.
1. Law
a. Early release of a prisoner who is then subject to continued monitoring as well as compliance with certain terms and conditions for a specified period.
b. The duration of such conditional release.
2. A password used by an officer of the day, an officer on guard, or the personnel commanded by such an officer.
3. Word of honor, especially that of a prisoner of war who is granted freedom only after promising not to engage in combat until formally exchanged.
4. Linguistics The act of speaking; a particular utterance or word.
tr.v. pa·roled, pa·rol·ing, pa·roles
To release (a prisoner) on parole.
[French, promise, word, from Vulgar Latin *paraula, from Latin parabola, discourse; see PARABLE.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2019 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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