parities

1. (obstetrics) the number of liveborn children a woman has deliveredExamples: "the parity of the mother must be considered"; "a bipara is a woman who has given birth to two children"Synonyms: para, parity

2. (mathematics) a relation between a pair of integers: if both integers are odd or both are even they have the same parity; if one is odd and the other is even they have different parityExamples: "parity is often used to check the integrity of transmitted data"Synonyms: parity

3. (computer science) a bit that is used in an error detection procedure in which a 0 or 1 is added to each group of bits so that it will have either an odd number of 1's or an even number of 1's; e.g., if the parity is odd then any group of bits that arrives with an even number of 1's must contain an errorSynonyms: check bit, parity, parity bit

4. (physics) parity is conserved in a universe in which the laws of physics are the same in a right-handed system of coordinates as in a left-handed systemSynonyms: conservation of parity, mirror symmetry, parity, space-reflection symmetry

5. functional equalitySynonyms: parity