parasangn.
/ˈparəsaŋ/, U.S. /ˈpɛrəˌsæŋ/ Now historical.
1. A unit of length used in ancient Persia, originally the distance travelled in an hour and usually reckoned to be approx. 6 km (3.7 miles).There is some uncertainty as to how the distance was calculated, including whether it was a distance covered by walking, riding, or another form of transport. It was reckoned by Herodotus, and apparently also by Xenophon, to be equal to 30 stadia, which, taking the Persian stadium as approx. 198 m (650 feet), would make the parasang approx. 5.9 km (3.7 miles). This, however, would only apply to cavalry; for foot soldiers the distance would be approx. 4 km (2.5 miles). According to Pliny and Strabo the length of the parasang was reckoned differently by different authors, some making it equal to 40 or even 60 stadia.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > Persian unit
parasang1555
farsang1613
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 315 The lake conteyneth fortie Persian myles cauled Parasange.
1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iii. ii. vi. f. 181v The Grecians did measure the distances..by furlongs,..and the Persians by parasanges.
1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. 9 From hence..hee marched fiue Parasangs, euen to the streights of Cilicia.
1783 B. Gerrans tr. B. Ben Jonah Trav. Rabbi Benjamin viii. 70 From Gilboa you have five Parasangs to the Valley of Ajalon.
1821 Ld. Byron Sardanapalus ii. i. 49 Sloth..moves more parasangs in its intents Than generals in their marches.
1847 G. Grote Hist. Greece IV. ii. xxxvi. 418 He [sc. Artaphernes] caused the territory of each [Ionian] city to be measured by parasangs (each parasang was equal to thirty stadia, or about three miles and a half).
1882 E. A. Floyer Unexplored Baluchistan 376 A farsakh or parasang varies in length from three to four and a half and even five miles in different parts of Persia.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xiv. [Oxen of the Sun] 403 Thence they advanced five parasangs. Slattery's mounted foot where's that bleeding awfur?
1984 Listener 14 June 15/3 A foot was a foot, a yard was a stride and a parasang, of blessed memory from all those Latin translations, was as far as anyone could walk in an hour.
1991 W. Golding in Guardian (Nexis) 17 Jan. Alexander's empire had land at its heart, was the empire of the parasang, the day's journey.
2. figurative and in extended use.
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1624 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 2) ii. iii. iii. 268 Thou art many parasanges before me in meanes, fauor, honor.
1836 W. S. Landor Pericles & Aspasia I. 148 If there are paces between Sculpture and Painting, there are parasangs between Painting and Poetry.
1880 Daily Tel. 9 Dec. Between a canary and a cook there is distance of many parasangs.
1908 G. H. Lorimer Jack Spurlock i. 3 I..was working three tutors to the bone, trying to move up a few parasangs to the position of foot of my class.
1960 P. G. Wodehouse Jeeves in Offing iii. 35 ‘You don't get the subtle strategy?’ ‘Not by several parasangs.’
1999 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 27 Mar. 4 Sporting shelves lined with parasangs of the discounted memoirs of old football managers.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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