parenthesis

English

WOTD – 9 September 2026
The letter “R” in parentheses (round brackets; sense 2) carved on a door in Nordfjordeid, Vestland, Norway.
A pair of parentheses (sense 2), in this case round brackets.

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *pr̥h₂ey
Proto-Hellenic *pərai
Ancient Greek πᾰρᾰ́ (părắ)
Ancient Greek πᾰρᾰ- (pără-)
Proto-Indo-European *h₁én
Ancient Greek ἐν (en)
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-redup.
Proto-Indo-European *-ti
Proto-Indo-European *dʰédʰeh₁ti
Proto-Hellenic *títʰēmi
Ancient Greek τῐ́θημῐ (tĭ́thēmĭ)
Ancient Greek πᾰρεντῐ́θημῐ (părentĭ́thēmĭ)
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Indo-European *-is
Proto-Indo-European *-tis
Proto-Hellenic *-tis
Ancient Greek -τῐς (-tĭs)
Ancient Greek -σις (-sis)
Koine Greek πᾰρένθεσῐς (părénthesĭs)bor.
Late Latin parenthesislbor.
English parenthesis

    Learned borrowing from Late Latin parenthesis (“rhetorical device where an aside or example is included”), borrowed from Koine Greek πᾰρένθεσῐς (părénthesĭs, “insertion; putting in beside, injection; (grammar) parenthesis”), from Ancient Greek πᾰρεντῐ́θημῐ (părentĭ́thēmĭ) + -σις (-sis), from Ancient Greek πᾰρᾰ- (pără-, prefix meaning ‘beside’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- (“before, in front”) and/or from its etymon *per- (“before, in front”)) + ἐν (en, “at; in; on”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én (“in”)) + θέσῐς (thésĭs, “arrangement, placement, setting”) (from τῐ́θημῐ (tĭ́thēmĭ, “to place, put, set”) (ultimate from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to do; to place, put”)) + -σῐς (-sĭs, suffix forming abstract nouns or nouns of action, process, or result)), modelled after Koine Greek πᾰρεντῐ́θημῐ (părentĭ́thēmĭ, “to put in beside; to mix up”).[1]

    Pronunciation

    • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /pəˈɹɛnθɪsɪs/
    • (General American) IPA(key): /pəˈɹɛnθəsəs/
    • Audio (General American):(file)
    • Hyphenation: par‧en‧the‧sis

    Noun

    parenthesis (countable and uncountable, plural parentheses)

    1. (countable) A clause, phrase, or word which is inserted into a grammatically complete passage of text for explanation or as an aside, and usually marked off with brackets, commas, or dashes.
      Synonym: (academic usage) parentheme
      Hyponym: (rhetoric, rare) ecbole
      • a. 1548 (date written), Edward Hall, Richard Grafton, “[The Tragicall Doynges of Kynge Richard the Thirde.] The .II. Yere.”, in The Vnion of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre & Yorke, […], London: […] Rychard Grafton, […] [and Steven Mierdman], published 1550, →OCLC, folio vij, verso:
        The duke ſome what maruelyng at this ſodaine pauſes as though they were but parentheſes, […]
      • a. 1638 (date written), Benjamin Jonson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “The English Grammar. […]. [Chapter IX. Of the Distinction of Sentences.]”, in The Workes of Benjamin Jonson. The Second Volume. […] (Second Folio), London: […] Richard Meighen, published 1640–1641, →OCLC, 2nd booke, page 83:
        Hither pertaineth a Parentheſis, vvherein tvvo Comma’s include a Sentence: […]
      • 1771, George Fisher, “Of Stops, Marks, and Points, Used in Reading and Writing; with Their Places and Significations”, in The Instructor; or, Young Man’s Best Companion. Containing Spelling, Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, in an Easier Way than Any yet Published. […], 23rd edition, Edinburgh: […] Gavin Alston, […], →OCLC, page 23:
        In reading a parentheſis, the tone muſt be ſomevvhat lovver, as a thing or matter that comes in bye the bye, breaking in as it vvere on the main coherence of the period. The time is equal to a comma, and ought to be read pretty quick, leaſt it detain the ear too long from the ſenſe of the more important matter.
      • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XV, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 113:
        Mr. Trevanion was one of those talkers, who are too much engrossed with their own subject matter to have much attention to bestow elsewhere; with them silence is attention. Ethel's wandering eye, and lip, tremulous with its effort to speak, would never have attracted his notice. To his utter astonishment, she interrupted a parenthesis, as brilliant as the rocket which it depicted, by saying,—"Mr. Trevanion, I do not know what you will think of my boldness, but I must speak to you."
      • 1903, Karl Mantzius, “The Indian Theatre”, in Louise von Cossel, transl., A History of Theatrical Art in Ancient and Modern Times, volume I (The Earliest Times), London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC, section II, page 86:
        How expressive this little parenthesis: "Sakuntalâ makes a chiding gesture with her finger"! it paints better than words could do Sakuntalâ's confusion and annoyance at her friend's indiscretion.
      1. (generally, countable) An aside serving as an explanation; also, an afterthought.
      2. (rhetoric, uncountable) The making of asides or explanations in grammatically complete passages of text.
        • 1589, attributed to George Puttenham, “Of Your Figures Auricular Working by Disorder”, in The Arte of English Poesie. […], London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC, 3rd booke (Of Ornament), pages 140–141:
          Your firſt figure of tollerable diſorder is [Parentheſis] or by an Engliſh name the [Inſertour] and is vvhen ye vvill ſeeme for larger information or ſome other purpoſe, to peece or graffe in the middeſt of your tale an vnneceſſary parcell of ſpeach, vvhich neuertheleſſe may be thence vvithout any detriment to the reſt.
    3. (by extension, orthography, countable) Either of a pair of brackets, chiefly the round brackets "(" and ")" but occasionally also the square brackets "[" and "]", which are used together to enclose parenthetical material in a text.
      Synonyms: (abbreviation, informal) paren, (obsolete) parenthesis-point; see also Thesaurus:bracket
      • [1505?], [Richard Pynson?], “Of the Craft of Poyntyng”, in Ascensius [i.e., Jodocus Badius], Ascensius Declynsons with the Playne Exposition, [London?]: [Richard Pynson?], →OCLC:
        Therbe fiue maner poyntys⸝ and diuisiõs moſt vſide with cunnyng men: the which if they be well vſide: make the ſentens very light⸝ and eſy to vnderſtõd both to the reder⸝ ⁊ the herer⸝ ⁊ theybe theſe: virgil⸝ come⸝ parentheſis⸝ playne poynt⸝ and interrogatif. […] A parenthesis is with tway crokyd virgils: as an olde mone⸝ ⁊ a neu bely to bely: the whiche be ſet theton afore the begynyng⸝ and thetother after the latyr ende of a clauſe: cõmyng within an other clauſe: that may be perfet: thoſ the clauſe, ſo comyng betwene: wer awey and therfore it is ſowndyde comynly a note lower: than the vttur clauſe.
        There be five manner [of] points, and divisions most used with cunning men, the which if they be well used, make the sentence very light, and easy to understand both to the reader, & the hearer, & they be these: virgil, come, parenthesis, plain point, and interrogative. […] A parenthesis is with two crooked virgils: as an old moon, & a new belly to belly, the which be set the one before the beginning, and the other after the latter end of a clause, coming within another clause, that may be perfect: thus the clause, so coming between, were away and therefore it is sounded commonly a note lower, than the outer clause.
      • 1592, Thomas Nash[e], Pierce Penilesse His Supplication to the Deuill. […], London: […] [John Charlewood for] Richard Ihones, […], →OCLC, signature B, verso:
        [T]he Kitchin […] was no bigger then the Cookes roome in a ſhip, with a little court chimney, about the compaſſe of a Parentheſis in proclamation print: then iudge you what diminutiue diſhes came out of this doues-neaſt.
      • 1771, George Fisher, “Of Stops, Marks, and Points, Used in Reading and Writing; with Their Places and Significations”, in The Instructor; or, Young Man’s Best Companion. Containing Spelling, Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, in an Easier Way than Any yet Published. […], 23rd edition, Edinburgh: […] Gavin Alston, […], →OCLC, page 23:
        If one ſentence be vvithin another, of vvhich it is no part, then it is placed betvveen tvvo ſemicircles or parentheſis, made thus ().
      • 1831, Thomas Carlyle, “Characteristics”, in Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 21:
        Of his sentences perhaps not more than nine-tenths stand straight on their legs; the remainder are quite angular attitudes, buttressed-up by props (of parentheses and dashes), and ever with this or the other tagrag hanging from them; a few even sprawl-out helplessly on all sides, quite broken-backed and dismembered.
      • 1842, F[rancis] Francillon, “Appendix. No. I.”, in An Essay on Punctuation with Incidental Remarks on Composition, London: Whittaker and Co., […], →OCLC, page 54:
        The Parenthesis incloses in the body of a Sentence a member inserted into it, which is neither necessary to the Sense, nor at all affects the Construction. It marks a moderate Depression of the voice, with a pause greater than a Comma.
      • 2013, Richard Ayoade, Avi Korine, The Double:
        [Young detective:] Should I write that down?
        [Detective:] Maybe in parentheses.
        [Young detective:] Does that mean brackets?
        [Detective:] What the fuck are brackets?
      • 2018 June, James Lambert, “Anglo-Indian Slang in Dictionaries on Historical Principles”, in World Englishes, volume 37, number 2, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Blackwell Publishing, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 255:
        [T]he present research also made an effort to approach a greater accuracy in presenting the original sources of borrowed words. This was achieved by presenting etymons from Hindustani in the Devanagari script followed by a transliteration in the Roman alphabet in parentheses.
      1. Either of a pair of curved lines or shapes resembling a round bracket.
      2. (logic, mathematics) Either of a pair of brackets used to clarify an expression by grouping terms affected by a common operator, or to enclose the components of a vector or the elements of a matrix.
    4. (figurative)
      1. (countable) An intervening event; an interlude, an interruption.
        Synonyms: break, hiatus; see also Thesaurus:pause
        • 1599 (first performance), B. I. [i.e., Ben Jonson], The Comicall Satyre of Euery Man out of His Humor. […], London: […] [Adam Islip] for William Holme, […], published 1600, →OCLC, Act III, scene iii, signature [K iv], verso:
          I ne're knevv Tabacco taken as a parentheſis before.
        • 1749, [John Cleland], “[Letter the First]”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], volume I, London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC, page 131:
          […] Charles flevv to me, catches me in his arms, raiſed, and extending mine to meet his dear embrace, and gives me an account, interrupted by many a ſvveet parentheſis of kiſſes, of the ſucceſs of his meaſures.
        • 1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 17: Ithaca]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part III [Nostos], page 651:
          With what meditations did [Leopold] Bloom accompany his demonstration to his companion of various constellation? Meditations of evolution increasingly vaster: […] of the parallax or parallactic drift of socalled fixed stars, in reality evermoving from immeasurably remote eons to infinitely remote futures in comparison with which the years, thre[e]score and ten, of allotted human life formed a parenthesis of infinitesimal brevity.
        • 1987 July (date written), Anthony Burgess, “Dau”, in Any Old Iron, Pocket Books export edition, New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, published August 1989, →ISBN, page 104:
          The war's making us all a bit abnormal. […] For people like [Winston] Churchill it's life, the fulfilment of his bloody career. For the rest of us it's a parenthesis. A mad life in brackets. Start again and pray for a return to sanity.
        • 2009 September 5, Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif.: Paramount Pictures, →OCLC:
          Ryan Bingham (George Clooney): I thought I was a part of your life. / Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga): I thought we signed up for the same thing […] I thought our relationship was perfectly clear. You are an escape. You're a break from our normal lives. You're a parenthesis. / Ryan Bingham (George Clooney): I'm a parenthesis?
      2. (obsolete, uncountable) A departing or straying from the main activity or subject; deviation, digression; (countable) an instance of this; an irrelevant interruption.
        • 1594, Tho[mas] Nashe, The Terrors of the Night: Or, A Discourse of Apparitions, London: […] Iohn Danter for William Iones, […], →OCLC, signature [Fiv], recto:
          Thus I conclude vvith this chance-medley Parentheſis, that vvhatſoeuer minutes intermiſſion I haue of calmed content, or leaſt reſpite to call my vvits together, principall and immediate proceedeth from him.
        • 1599, [Thomas Heywood], “[The First Part]”, in The First and Second Partes of King Edward the Fourth. […], London: […] I. W. for Iohn Oxenbridge, […], →OCLC, signature D2, recto:
          Away with this parenthiſis of words, / Crosbie courage thy men, and on this greene, / whoſe cauſe is right, let it be quickly ſeene.
        • 1757 May 5 (date written), Horace Walpole, “Letter CCXCIX”, in Lord Dover [i.e., George Agar-Ellis, 1st Baron Dover], editor, Letters of Horace Walpole Earl of Orford, to Sir Horace Mann, British Envoy at the Court of Tuscany. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley […], published 1833, →OCLC, page 262:
          I believe, upon review, that this is a mighty indefinite letter; I would have waited for certainties, but not knowing how long that might be, I thought you would prefer this parenthesis of politics.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    clause, phrase, or word which is inserted into a grammatically complete passage of text for explanation or as an aside
    making of asides or explanations in grammatically complete passages of text
    either of a pair of brackets used together to enclose parenthetical material in a text

    See also

    References

    1. ^ “parenthesis, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2026; “parenthesis, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

    Further reading

    Anagrams

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