Definition

1. Noun:
   • Functional equality or equivalence: The state or condition of being equal, especially in status, value, or amount.
   • A property in physics: The principle that the laws of physics are identical in a right-handed and a left-handed coordinate system; the conservation of this property.
   • A computational bit for error detection: A bit added to a sequence of bits to make the total number of 1s either even (even parity) or odd (odd parity), used to detect errors in data transmission or storage.
   • A mathematical property of integers: The attribute of an integer as being either even or odd. Two integers have the same parity if both are even or both are odd.
   • A term in obstetrics: The number of times a woman has given birth to a fetus with a gestational age of 24 weeks or more, regardless of whether the child was born alive or was stillborn.

Usage Examples

• Functional Equality:
  • The new policy aims to achieve pay parity between men and women.
  • There is a parity of esteem between the two academic disciplines.
• Physics:
  • The experiment violated the law of parity conservation.
• Computer Science:
  • The system uses a parity bit to check for transmission errors.
  • If the parity is set to even, any byte with an odd number of 1s is flagged.
• Mathematics:
  • The numbers 4 and 10 share the same parity (both are even).
  • 7 and 12 have different parity (one is odd, the other is even).
• Obstetrics:
  • The patient's medical history noted a parity of two.
  • A woman with a parity of zero is a nullipara.

Advanced Usage

• "Purchasing power parity (PPP)": An economic theory that compares different countries' currencies through a "basket of goods" approach, stating that exchange rates should equalize the price of an identical basket of goods in any two countries.
  • The GDP figures are adjusted for purchasing power parity.
• "Interest rate parity": A theory in finance stating that the difference in interest rates between two countries is equal to the difference between the forward exchange rate and the spot exchange rate.
  • The trader's strategy was based on covered interest rate parity.

Variants and Related Words

• Disparity (n): A great difference; inequality.
  • There is a significant disparity in income levels.
• Parity check (n): The process of using a parity bit to detect errors.
  • A parity check is a simple form of error detection.

Synonyms

• Equality: The state of being equal, especially in status, rights, or opportunities.
• Equivalence: The condition of being equal or interchangeable in value, function, or meaning.
• Par (in finance): Equality, especially of value or standing.

Related Phrases

• To achieve parity with: To reach a state of equality with something else.
  • The currency has finally achieved parity with the dollar.
• Parity of reasoning: The principle that similar cases should be treated in similar ways.
  • The lawyer argued for a verdict based on parity of reasoning with previous cases.

Noun

1. functional equality
2. (physics) parity is conserved in a universe in which the laws of physics are the same in a right-handed system of coordinates as in a left-handed system
3. (computer science) a bit that is used in an error detection procedure in which a 0 or 1 is added to each group of bits so that it will have either an odd number of 1's or an even number of 1's; e.g., if the parity is odd then any group of bits that arrives with an even number of 1's must contain an error
4. (mathematics) a relation between a pair of integers: if both integers are odd or both are even they have the same parity; if one is odd and the other is even they have different parity
   • parity is often used to check the integrity of transmitted data
5. (obstetrics) the number of liveborn children a woman has delivered
   • the parity of the mother must be considered
   • a bipara is a woman who has given birth to two children