parasang

American  

[par-uh-sang] / ˈpær əˌsæŋ /

noun

1. an ancient Persian unit of distance, equal to about 3.5 miles (5.6 km).

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parasang British  

/ ˈpærəˌsæŋ /

noun

1. a Persian unit of distance equal to about 5.5 km or 3.4 miles

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Etymology

Origin of parasang

C16: via Latin and Greek from a Persian word related to modern Persian farsang

Example Sentences

Such words as "blastoderm", "sindoc," "peris," "parasang," "sarcenet," "teazel," "nullah," "cantatrice," "barracan," "sistrum," writhed and hissed in her verses.

From Time Magazine Archive

They discharge themselves into the Euphrates, are distant from each other one parasang, and there are bridges over them.

From The First Four Books of Xenophon's Anabasis by Watson, John Selby

Their unwearying feet had tramped many a long parasang.

From A Victor of Salamis by Davis, William Stearns

Ibn-Haukal, an Arabian traveller of the 10th century, describes Balkh as built of clay, with ramparts and six gates, and extending half a parasang.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 "Baconthorpe" to "Bankruptcy" by Various

Mr. Ainsworth, following Mr. Hamilton and Colonel Leake, makes the parasang equal to 3 English miles, 180 yards, or 3 geographical miles of 1822 yards each.

From The First Four Books of Xenophon's Anabasis by Watson, John Selby