parable

[par-uh-buh l] /ˈpær ə bəl/

noun

a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.

a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like.

Origin

1275-1325; Middle English parabil < Late Latin parabola comparison, parable, word < Greek parabolḗ comparison, equivalent to para- para-¹ + bolḗ a throwing

Related forms

parabolist

[puh-rab-uh-list] /pəˈræb ə lɪst/ (Show IPA), noun

Synonyms

1. allegory, homily, apologue.

Examples from the web for parable

The first he illustrates with a true story, which might be called the parable of the pheasant.
He does not come right out and say so, but the story stands as a parable to be pondered by sociological historians.
His story became a parable for the fickleness of art and life.
It became both parable and laughing stock.
This parable is, of course, a story about a researcher and her interactions with academic-journal publishers.
This isn't just a fairy tale, but a coming-of-age story that is a parable about power and abuse of it.
This parable of waste grows only darker.
As in the parable of the little red hen who baked the bread all by herself, the unequal division of labor is fundamentally unfair.
However he came to his ordeal, his life— particularly the last period— was a bitter parable of a bitter time.
The parable may be understood thus.

British Dictionary definitions for parable

parable

/ˈpærəbəl/

noun

a short story that uses familiar events to illustrate a religious or ethical point related adjectives parabolic parabolical

any of the stories of this kind told by Jesus Christ

Derived Forms

parabolist (pəˈræbəlɪst) noun

Word Origin

C14: from Old French parabole, from Latin parabola comparison, from Greek parabolē analogy, from paraballein to throw alongside, from para-1 + ballein to throw

Word Origin and History for parable

mid-13c., parabol, modern form from early 14c., "saying or story in which something is expressed in terms of something else," from Old French parable "parable, parabolic style in writing" (13c.), from Latin parabola "comparison," from Greek parabole "a comparison, parable," literally "a throwing beside," hence "a juxtaposition," from para- "alongside" (see para- (1)) + bole "a throwing, casting, beam, ray," related to ballein "to throw" (see ballistics).

Replaced Old English bispell. In Vulgar Latin, parabola took on the meaning "word," hence Italian parlare, French parler "to speak" (see parley (n.)).

parable in the Bible

(Gr. parabole), a placing beside; a comparison; equivalent to the Heb. mashal, a similitude. In the Old Testament this is used to denote (1) a proverb (1 Sam. 10:12; 24:13; 2 Chr. 7:20), (2) a prophetic utterance (Num. 23:7; Ezek. 20:49), (3) an enigmatic saying (Ps. 78:2; Prov. 1:6). In the New Testament, (1) a proverb (Mark 7:17; Luke 4:23), (2) a typical emblem (Heb. 9:9; 11:19), (3) a similitude or allegory (Matt. 15:15; 24:32; Mark 3:23; Luke 5:36; 14:7); (4) ordinarily, in a more restricted sense, a comparison of earthly with heavenly things, "an earthly story with a heavenly meaning," as in the parables of our Lord. Instruction by parables has been in use from the earliest times. A large portion of our Lord's public teaching consisted of parables. He himself explains his reasons for this in his answer to the inquiry of the disciples, "Why speakest thou to them in parables?" (Matt. 13:13-15; Mark 4:11, 12; Luke 8:9, 10). He followed in so doing the rule of the divine procedures, as recorded in Matt. 13:13. The parables uttered by our Lord are all recorded in the synoptical (i.e., the first three) Gospels. The fourth Gospel contains no parable properly so called, although the illustration of the good shepherd (John 10:1-16) has all the essential features of a parable. (See List of Parables in Appendix.)