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Noun: parity  per-i-tee [N. Amer], pa-ri-tee [Brit]
  1. Functional equality
     
  2. (obstetrics) the number of liveborn children a woman has delivered
    "the parity of the mother must be considered";
    - para[2]
     
  3. (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"
     
  4. (computing) 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
    - parity bit, check bit
     
  5. (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
    - conservation of parity, space-reflection symmetry, mirror symmetry

Derived forms: parities

Type of: bit, conservation, equivalence, gestation, maternity, mathematical relation, pregnancy

Encyclopedia: Parity