parietal

[ puh-rahy-i-tl ]

adjective

1. Anatomy. of, relating to, or situated near the side and top of the skull or the parietal bone.
2. Biology. of or relating to parietes or structural walls.
3. Botany. pertaining to or arising from a wall: usually applied to ovules when they proceed from or are borne on the walls or sides of the ovary.
4. pertaining to or having authority over residence, and especially visitation regulations between the sexes, within the walls or buildings of a college or university:

   a listing of the parietal regulations for the law students' dormitory.

noun

1. Anatomy. any of several parts in the parietal region of the skull, especially the parietal bone.
2. parietals. Also called parietal rules. campus regulations governing visits between members of opposite sexes to each other's dormitories or rooms.

parietal

/ pəˈraɪɪtəl /

adjective

1. anatomy biology of, relating to, or forming the walls or part of the walls of a bodily cavity or similar structure

   the parietal bones of the skull

2. of or relating to the side of the skull
3. (of plant ovaries) having ovules attached to the walls
4. living or having authority within a college

noun

1. a parietal bone

Other Words From

• inter·pa·rie·tal adjective
• subpa·rie·tal adjective
• transpa·rie·tal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of parietal¹

1590–1600; < Late Latin parietālis of, belonging to walls, equivalent to Latin pariet- (stem of pariēs ) wall + -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of parietal¹

C16: from Late Latin parietālis, from Latin pariēs wall

Example Sentences

MRI scans revealed that most of the brain activity was concentrated in the angular gyrus, a portion of the parietal lobe of the brain.

From Salon

In the stomach, so-called parietal cells are responsible for acid production.

From Science Daily

Simultaneously they measured the activity of the parietal cortex, a part of neocortex that sends inputs to the entorhinal cortex.

From Science Daily

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found overactivation in many brain regions, including the frontal and parietal lobes and the amygdala, in unmedicated children with anxiety disorders.

From Science Daily

And on its head is a hole that would have housed a parietal, or third, eye.

From BBC