par·i·ty
1 (păŕĭ-tē)
[French parité, from Old French parite, from Late Latin paritās, from pār, par-, equal; see pair.]
noun: pl., -ties.
- Equality, as in amount, status, or value.
- Functional equivalence, as in the weaponry or military strength of adversaries: “A problem that has troubled the U.S.-Soviet relationship from the beginning has been the issue of parity” (Charles William Maynes)
- The equivalent in value of a sum of money expressed in terms of a different currency at a fixed official rate of exchange.
- Equality of prices of goods or securities in two different markets.
- A level for farm-product prices maintained by governmental support and intended to give farmers the same purchasing power they had during a chosen base period.
- Mathematics The even or odd quality of an integer. If two integers are both odd or both even, they are said to have the same parity; if one is odd and one even, they have different parity.
- Physics
- An intrinsic symmetry property of subatomic particles that is characterized by the behavior of the wave function of such particles under reflection through the origin of spatial coordinates.
- A quantum number, either +1 (even) or −1 (odd), that mathematically describes this property.
- Computer Science
- The even or odd quality of the number of 1's or 0's in a binary code, often used to determine the integrity of data especially after transmission.
- A parity bit.
par·i·ty
2 (păŕĭ-tē)
[Latin parere, to give birth, bring forth, + –ity.]
noun
- The condition of having given birth.
- The number of children borne by one woman.
