Tuesday, 5 July 2011

What does `pari passu’ mean?

First, let’s deal with the pronunciation. The `a’ in `pari’ is like `a’ in `ask’, `task’, and `answer’; the following `i’ is pronounced like the `ee’ in `fee’, `bee’, and `knee’. The `a’ in `passu’ is like the `a’ in `act’, `fact’ and `bat’; and the following `u’ is like the `oo’ in `cool’, `pool’, and `fool’. The main stress is on the first syllable of `passu’.

This is a Latin expression which literally means `with equal footing’. When you say that two things are `pari passu’, you mean that they are travelling at the same pace, and hence are side by side. The expression is also used to mean, `without partiality’.

*According to this report, inflation and interest rates increased pari passu last year.

Source: The Hindu ‘Know Your English’ Series, November 21, 2005.

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