See Also: parallax(encyclopedia)
parallax(dictionary)
parallax(medicine)
homonymous parallax(medicine)
parallax method(medicine)
parallax test(medicine)
heteronymous parallax(medicine)
stereoscopic parallax(medicine)
vertical parallax(medicine)
Motion parallax(health)

parallax (iou)



parallax noun. L16.
[French parallaxe from mod. Latin parallaxis from Greek = change, alternation, angle between two lines, from parallassein alter, alternate, formed as PARA-1 + allassein to exchange, from allos other.]
The fact of seeing wrongly or in a distorted way. Long rare exc. as fig. use of sense 2. L16.
Difference or change in the apparent position or the direction of an object as seen from two different points; spec. (Astronomy) such a difference or change in the position of a celestial object as seen from different points on the earth's surface or opposite points in its orbit. Also, (half of) the angular amount of such a difference or change; spec. (Astronomy) the angle subtended at a celestial object by the radius of the earth's orbit, as a measure of its distance. L16.
Comb.: parallax error error in reading an instrument caused by parallax when the scale and the indicator are not precisely coincident.
para'llactic adjective [Greek parallaktikos] pertaining to or resulting from parallax M17.
parallactical adjective parallactic L17-E18.