par|a|pro|fes|sion|al

par|a|pro|fes|sion|al «_PAR uh pruh FEHSH uh nuhl, -FEHSH nuhl», noun, adjective.

–n.

a person who assists a teacher, nurse, social worker, or other professional; aide or assistant in a professional field who does not have full professional training; subprofessional: »

Classes were proceeding, with regular teachers and “paraprofessionals,” mostly mothers, to help out with classes in reading and in English, which is taught by modern adult methods of language instruction (New Yorker).

–adj.

of, having to do with, or acting as a paraprofessional: »

There is some talk now of using paraprofessional help, trained on the job like interns (Maclean's).