pareil

English

Etymology

French pareil

Noun

pareil (plural pareils)

1. (obsolete, quaint) An equal.

   Among writers he was a man without pareil.

Anagrams

• Aprile

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French

Etymology

From Middle French pareil, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *pariclus (compare Catalan parell, Greek παρέα (paréa), Italian parecchio, Occitan parelh, Romanian pereche, Spanish parejo), from contraction of *pariculus, a diminutive of Latin pār.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa.ʁɛj/

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛj
• Homophones: pareils, pareille, pareilles

Adjective

pareil (feminine singular pareille, masculine plural pareils, feminine plural pareilles)

1. such

   Je n'ai jamais vu une chose pareille.

   I've never seen such a thing.

2. like, alike, same

   Les chauves-souris voletaient en silence, pareilles à des ombres inquiètes.

   Bats flutter in silence like worried shadows.

   Il est pareil à son père. (Quebec)

   He's like his father.

Usage notes

The adjective is often placed before the noun in formal style: un pareil crime, whereas un crime pareil sounds more natural.

Derived terms

• être du pareil au même
• impareil
• sans pareil
• ne pas avoir son pareil
• nonpareil
• rendre la pareille

See also

• même
• tel

Further reading

• “pareil” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• palier, pilera, plaire, pliera, replia