Where does “parable” come from?

Parable comes from Latin parabola, from Latin parare meaning "to prepare," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʷelH- meaning "to throw."

parable (English): A short narrative illustrating a lesson by...

Definitions

  1. A short narrative illustrating a lesson by...

Ancestry of “parable”, step by step

parable traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English parable

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishparableA parable or narrative; A maxim or byword, a...
2Old Frenchparable
3Late Latinparabolaparable, speech; speech; A comparison,...
4LatinparabolaA comparison, illustration, likeness; An...
5Ancient Greekπαραβολήa placing of two things side by side,...
6Ancient Greekπαραβάλλωto compare; to set side by side; I set side by...
7Ancient Greekπᾰρᾰ-near; next to; by, near
8Ancient Greekπαρά
9LatinverēdusA fast or light breed of horse; courier's horse; hunter
10Gaulishwerēdoshorse
11Proto-Celtic*uɸoreidoshorse

via Latin parābilis

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinparābilisobtainable; at hand, available
2Latinparāre
3Latinparōto arrange, order, contrive, design
4Latinpectuschest, breast; heart, breast, as the seat of...
5Proto-Italicpektos
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpeg-breast
7Englishpolyethylene glycolAny of a series of water-soluble polymers, of...

Words derived from “parable

Every word from Proto-Celtic *uɸoreidos
parable — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer