par|al|lel|ism

par|al|lel|ism «PAR uh _LEHL ihz uhm», noun.

1. a being parallel.

2. Figurative. likeness; similarity; correspondence; agreement: »

For the first 14 years of life, the schooling of a girl is virtually the same as for a boy. But in high school…parallelism is likely to end (Science News Letter).

3. parallel statements in writing, expressed in the same grammatical form. Example: “He was advised to rise early, to work hard, and to eat heartily.”

4. Metaphysics. the doctrine that mental and bodily processes are concomitant, each varying with variation of t other, but that there is no causal relation of interaction between the two series of changes.

5. Obsolete. a simile.