parry
UK[ˈpæri]US[ˈpæri]
v
To defend yourself from a weapon or an attack by pushing it aside or blocking it
v
To avoid having to answer a difficult question or deal with a difficult situation in a clever way
Etymology
The word 'parry' entered English in the late 17th century from the fencing terminology of French, specifically from the imperative 'parez!', meaning "ward off!". Its ultimate Latin ancestor is 'parare', a verb with the broad sense of "to make ready, to prepare". The logic of its evolution lies in the specialized context of combat: the act of preparing oneself against a blow naturally narrowed into the specific action of deflecting it. This literal meaning of deflecting a physical attack was later extended metaphorically to describe the skillful evasion of verbal questions or problematic issues, completing its journey from physical readiness to intellectual deftness.
Analysis
This word is a simplex form borrowed into English as a complete unit. Its core is from the French verb 'parer', meaning "to ward off, to avert". The French term itself derives from the Italian 'parare', with the same meaning, which traces back to the Latin 'parare', "to prepare, to make ready". The semantic shift from "to prepare" to "to ward off" occurred in the Romance languages.
Examples
The fencer expertly parried her opponent's thrust.
The politician parried the journalist's probing question with a witty remark.
He managed to parry the criticism by shifting the focus to his team's recent successes.