parable

[par-uh-buh l] /ˈpær ə bəl/
noun
1.
a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.
2.
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 parables
  • He was clever at using metaphors, parables and satire to address controversial subjects.
  • Wack burned incense in his office and spoke in riddles and parables.
  • There must be many parables from the past, yielding similar lessons.
  • Comparisons between sport and war tend to be parables: presenting games as an alternative to killing.
  • Reformers, writers and artists have long deployed visions of the future as parables, offering insight into their times.
  • Green flexes his quite adequate storytelling muscles and renders through parables his past feelings of isolation and loneliness.
  • He seemed to see the whole world in parables about shoes.
  • There certainly will be no contribution toward stability if the sets of com-parables change each time the parties negotiate.
  • The undersigned finds little to commend completely either set of com-parables in their entirety.
  • Further, his teachings are not unlike biblical parables.
British Dictionary definitions for parables

parable

/ˈpærəbəl/
noun
1.
a short story that uses familiar events to illustrate a religious or ethical point related adjectives parabolic parabolical
2.
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 parables

parable

n.

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.)).

parables in Culture

parables definition


In the New Testament, the stories told by Jesus to convey his religious message; they include the parable of the Good Samaritan and that of the Prodigal Son.

parables 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.)