different between parallelism vs similar

English

Etymology

From parallel +? -ism and from Late Latin parallelismus.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?pa??l?l?z(?)m/

Noun

parallelism (countable and uncountable, plural parallelisms)

1. The state or condition of being parallel; agreement in direction, tendency, or character.
2. The state of being in agreement or similarity; resemblance, correspondence, analogy.
   • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.29:

     Plutarch (c. AD 46-120), in his Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, traced a parallelism between the most eminent men of the two countries.

3. A parallel position; the relation of parallels.
4. (rhetoric, grammar) The juxtaposition of two or more identical or equivalent syntactic constructions, especially those expressing the same sentiment with slight modifications, introduced for rhetorical effect.
5. (philosophy) The doctrine that matter and mind do not causally interact but that physiological events in the brain or body nonetheless occur simultaneously with matching events in the mind.
6. (law) In antitrust law, the practice of competitors of raising prices by roughly the same amount at roughly the same time, without engaging in a formal agreement to do so.
7. (biology) Similarity of features between two species resulting from their having taken similar evolutionary paths following their initial divergence from a common ancestor.
8. (computing) The use of parallel methods in hardware or software, so that several tasks can be performed at the same time.

Related terms

• parallelist
• parallelistic

Translations

References

• parallelism in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• parallelism in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• Dictionary of Philosophy, Dagobert D. Runes (ed.), Philosophical Library, 1962. See: "Parallelism" by J. J. Rolbiecki, p. 225.

English

Etymology

From French similaire, from Medieval Latin similaris, extended from Latin similis (“like”); akin to simul (“together”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?s?m?l?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?s?m?l?/

Adjective

similar (comparative more similar, superlative most similar)

1. Having traits or characteristics in common; alike, comparable.

   • So this was my future home, I thought! Certainly it made a brave picture. I had seen similar ones fired-in on many a Heidelberg stein. Backed by towering hills, […] a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
2. (mathematics) Of geometrical figures including triangles, squares, ellipses, arcs and more complex figures, having the same shape but possibly different size, rotational orientation, and position; in particular, having corresponding angles equal and corresponding line segments proportional; such that one can be had from the other using a sequence of rotations, translations and scalings.

Synonyms

• (with common characteristics): akin, alike, comparable, identical, same, twin

Antonyms

• (alike): different, unlike, dissimilar

Derived terms

• similarity
• similarly
• similarness

Related terms

Translations

Noun

similar (plural similars)

1. That which is similar to, or resembles, something else, as in quality, form, etc.
2. (homeopathy) A material that produces an effect that resembles the symptoms of a particular disease.

Further reading

• similar in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• similar in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin simil?ris.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /si.mi?la/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /si.mi?lar/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /si.mi?la?/

Adjective

similar (masculine and feminine plural similars)

1. similar

   Synonym: semblant

Related terms

• similitud

Further reading

• “similar” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /s?.mi.?la?/
• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /si.mi.?la(?)/
• Hyphenation: si?mi?lar

Adjective

similar m or f (plural similares, comparable)

1. similar (having traits or characteristics in common)

   Synonyms: parecido, semelhante

Romanian

Etymology

From French similaire

Adjective

similar m or n (feminine singular similar?, masculine plural similari, feminine and neuter plural similare)

1. similar

Declension

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /simi?la?/, [si.mi?la?]
• Hyphenation: si?mi?lar

Adjective

similar (plural similares)

1. similar

   Synonyms: semejante, parecido, símil (rare)

   Antonyms: desemejante, desigual, diferente, disímil, dispar, disparejo, diverso

Related terms

• similitud

Further reading

• “similar” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.