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Entry 8 senses · 3 variants Webster, 1913

Parcel

/pärʹ-səl/ · Par·cel · IPA /ˈpɑɹsəl/
01 n. A portion of anything taken separately; a fragment of a whole; a part.
  1. 1.
    A portion of anything taken separately; a fragment of a whole; a part.[Archaic]
    “Two parcels of the white of an egg.” — Arbuthnot.
    “The parcels of the nation adopted different forms of self-government.” — J. A. Symonds.
  2. 2.
    A part; a portion; a piece; as, a certain piece of land is part and parcel of another piece.(Law)
  3. 3.
    An indiscriminate or indefinite number, measure, or quantity; a collection; a group.
    “This youthful parcel Of noble bachelors stand at my disposing.” — Shak.
  4. 4.
    A number or quantity of things put up together; a bundle; a package; a packet.
    “'Tis like a parcel sent you by the stage.” — Cowper.
Phrases & compounds
Bill of parcels — See under 6th Bill.
Parcel office — an office where parcels are received for keeping or forwarding and delivery.
Parcel post — that department of the post office concerned with the collection and transmission of parcels; also, the transmission through the parcel post deparment; as, to send a package by parcel post. See parcel post in the vocabulary.
Part and parcel — See under Part.
02 v. t. To divide and distribute by parts or portions; -- often with out or into.
imp. & p. p. Parceled; p. pr. & vb. n. Parceling
  1. 1.
    To divide and distribute by parts or portions; -- often with out or into.
    “These ghostly kings would parcel out my power.” — Dryden.
    “The broad woodland parceled into farms.” — Tennyson.
  2. 2.
    To add a parcel or item to; to itemize.[R.]
    “That mine own servant should Parcel the sum of my disgraces by Addition of his envy.” — Shak.
  3. 3.
    To make up into a parcel; as, to parcel a customer's purchases; the machine parcels yarn, wool, etc.
Phrases & compounds
To parcel a rope — to wind strips of tarred canvas tightly arround it.
To parcel a seam — to cover it with a strip of tarred canvas.
03 a. & adv. Part or half; in part; partially.
  1. 1.
    Part or half; in part; partially.[Sometimes hyphened with the word following.]
    “The worthy dame was parcel-blind.” — Sir W. Scott.
    “One that . . . was parcel-bearded [partially bearded].” — Tennyson.
Phrases & compounds
Parcel poet — a half poet; a poor poet.