Dictionary:

parity¹

  (păr'ĭ-tē)

1. Equality, as in amount, status, or value.
2. Functional equivalence, as in the weaponry or military strength of adversaries: “A problem that has troubled the U.S.-Soviet relationship from the beginning has been the issue of parity” (Charles William Maynes).
3. The equivalent in value of a sum of money expressed in terms of a different currency at a fixed official rate of exchange.
4. Equality of prices of goods or securities in two different markets.
5. A level for farm-product prices maintained by governmental support and intended to give farmers the same purchasing power they had during a chosen base period.
6. Mathematics. The even or odd quality of an integer. If two integers are both odd or both even, they are said to have the same parity; if one is odd and one even, they have different parity.
7. (Abbr. P) Physics.
   1. An intrinsic symmetry property of subatomic particles that is characterized by the behavior of the wave function of such particles under reflection through the origin of spatial coordinates.
   2. A quantum number, either +1 (even) or −1 (odd), that mathematically describes this property.
8. Computer Science.
   1. The even or odd quality of the number of 1's or 0's in a binary code, often used to determine the integrity of data especially after transmission.
   2. A parity bit.

[French parité, from Old French parite, from Late Latin paritās, from pār, par-, equal. See pair.]

1. In general, a situation of equality. Parity can occur in many different contexts, but it always means that two things are equal.

2. The official value.

3. In an exchange market, when all brokers bidding for the same security have equal standing due to identical bids.

Investopedia Says:
1. For example, in the foreign-exchange market, currencies are at parity when their exchange rate is exactly 1 to 1.

2. In other words, the par value.

3. When parity occurs, the market must determine which bidding broker will obtain the security by alternative means. Therefore, the winning bid is typically awarded by random draw.

Related Links:
Look at trades that are profitable when the value of corresponding puts and calls diverge. Put-Call Parity and Arbitrage Opportunity
Learn how the largest and fastest growing market can work for you. The Forex Market

Computers: number that is odd or even. Usually when bits (1's and 0's) are transferred or stored, there is an extra bit added so that the total number of 1's is always odd (alternatively, always even). This is referred to as the parity of the data. Since a transmission error has a one-half chance of altering the parity, frequent errors will warn the receiver of the data of possible errors.

Economics: term designating a constant spread between prices; for example, having a constant relationship between domestic and world sugar prices.

Labor law: salary equality among workers such as policemen and firemen.

noun

The state of being equivalent: equality, equation, equivalence, equivalency, par, sameness. See same/different/compare.

Definition: equality, balance
Antonyms: dissimilitude, imbalance, inequality

Business and Economics

Physics

For more information on parity, visit Britannica.com.

Equality in amount or value. Equivalence of prices of farm products to the prices existing at some former date (the base period) or to the general cost of living; equivalence of prices of goods or services in two different markets. The relationship between two currencies such that they are exchangeable for each other at the par or official rate of exchange.

Parity is a concept of equality of status or functional equivalence. It has several different specific definitions.

• parity (physics): In physics parity is the name of the symmetry of interactions under spatial inversion.
• parity (mathematics): In mathematics, parity indicates whether a number is even or odd.
• parity (medicine) refers to the number of times a woman or female animal has given birth.
• In computing, a parity bit is a very simple example of an error detecting code. See also RAM parity.
• In economics, purchasing power parity (PPP) is an estimate of the exchange rate required to equalise the purchasing power of different currencies, given the prices of goods and services in the countries concerned.
• in economic history, parity was the ratio of farm income to farm expenditure with 1910-1914 as a base. Farm interests from 1920s to 1960s wanted federal programs to raise their income to parity.
• In finance, interest rate parity refers to the notion that the differential in interest rates between two countries is equal to the differential between the forward exchange rate and the spot exchange rate.
• In Human Genetics, base parity is the G/C ratio in regions of DNA.
• In financial mathematics, put-call parity defines a relationship between the price of a European call option and a European put option - both with the identical strike price and expiry.
• In sports, parity refers to engineering an equal playing field in which all teams can compete, regardless of their economic circumstances.
• In demography, parity means the number of reproductive events (births).
• Potty parity attempts to equalize the waiting times of males and females in restroom queues by designating or building more women's restrooms, giving them more facilities to use.
• Parity is a tactic in othello.
• Militarily, it refers to having a comparable force as one's enemy, such as geopolitically as in mutual assured destruction.

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Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - paritet, ligestilling

2.
n. - det at have født, antallet af børn født af en kvinde

Nederlands (Dutch)
pariteit, gelijkwaardigheid, overeenkomst

Français (French)
1.
n. - parité

2.
n. - accouchée, progéniture

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Gleichheit

2.
n. - GebÄr-

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ισότητα, ισοτιμία

Italiano (Italian)
parità

Português (Portuguese)
n. - paridade (f), igualdade (f)

Русский (Russian)
равенство, паритет

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - paridad, igualdad

2.
n. - parturienta, parición

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - paritet, (jäm)likhet

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
1. 同等, 相同, 类似, 势均力敌

2. 同等, 相同, 类似, 势均力敌

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 同等, 相同, 類似, 勢均力敵

2.
n. - 同等, 相同, 類似, 勢均力敵

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 동등, 대응, 평가

2.
n. - 출산 경력, 출산아 수

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 等価, 同等, 平価, パリティー, 偶奇性, 奇偶性, 出産経歴

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) تساو, تكافؤ, تماثل, تشابه في القيمه : تعادل في القوة الشرائيه, بنسبه ثابته تحدد بقانون‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮הקבלה, שוויון, רמה שווה, מעמד שווה, עובדת היותו של מספר זוגי או פרטי‬
n. - ‮עובדת היותה של אישה אם לילדים, מספר הילדים שנולדו לאישה‬

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