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Parity - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Parity : (noun)
1: (obstetrics) the number of live-born 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" [syn: para]
2: (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
3: (computer science) abit 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 [syn: parity bit, check bit]
4: (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 [syn: conservation
of parity, space-reflection symmetry, mirror symmetry]
5: functional equality
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Parity : \Par"i*ty\, n. [L. paritas, fr. par, paris, equal: cf. F.
parit['e]. See Pair, Peer an equal.]
The quality or condition of being equal or equivalent; A like
state or degree; equality; close correspondence; analogy; as,
parity of reasoning. ``No parity of principle.'' --De
Quincey.
Equality of length and parity of numeration. --Sir T.
Browne.
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Parity :
An extra bit added to a byte or
word to reveal errors in storage (in RAM or disk) or
transmission. Even (odd) parity means that the parity bit is
set so that there are an even (odd) number of one bits in the
word, including the parity bit. A single parity bit can only
reveal single bit errors since if an even number of bits are
wrong then the parity bit will not change. Moreover, it is
not possible to tell which bit is wrong, as it is with more
sophisticated error detection and correction systems.
See also longitudinal parity, checksum, cyclic redundancy
check.
(1996-03-01)
Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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