parable
/ˈparəb(ə)l
/noun
A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels: the parable of the blind men and the elephant a modern-day parable...
- Jesus Christ sometimes used the camel in parables.
- Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing.
- In each gospel some of the parables are linked explicitly to Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom of God.
Synonyms
allegory, moral story, moral tale, fable, lesson, exemplum;
Judaism Haggadah
rare apologue
Origin
Middle English: from Old French parabole, from an ecclesiastical Latin sense 'discourse, allegory' of Latin parabola 'comparison', from Greek parabolē (see parabola).
The word parable is from an ecclesiastical Latin sense ‘discourse, allegory’ of Latin parabola ‘comparison’. The source is Greek parabolē ‘placing side by side, application’, from para- ‘beside’ and bolē ‘a throw’. The Latin parabola came to be used for the symmetrical curve in the late 16th century, and the same Latin root lies behind parley and parole [both LME]. See also palaver, parliament, ballistic