parole
pronunciation
How to pronounce parole in British English:
UK [pəˈrəʊl]
How to pronounce parole in American English:
US [pəˈroʊl]
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- Noun:
- a promise
- a secret word or phrase known only to a restricted group
- (law) a conditional release from imprisonment that entitiles the person to serve the remainder of the sentence outside the prison as long as the terms of release are complied with
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- Verb:
- release a criminal from detention and place him on parole
Word Origin
- parole (n.)
- 1610s, "word of honor," especially "promise by a prisoner of war not to escape," from French parole "word, speech" (in parole d'honneur "word of honor") from Vulgar Latin *paraula "speech, discourse," from Latin parabola (see parable). Sense of "conditional release of a prisoner before full term" is first attested 1908 in criminal slang.
- parole (v.)
- 1716, from parole (n.). Originally it was what the prisoner did ("pledge"); its transitive meaning "put on parole" is first attested 1782. Related: Paroled; paroling.