Par"al*lel*ism (?), n. [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to place side by side, or parallel: cf. F. parallélisme.]

1. The quality or state of being parallel.

2. Resemblance; correspondence; similarity.

A close parallelism of thought and incident.

3. Similarity of construction or meaning of clauses placed side by side, especially clauses expressing the same sentiment with slight modifications, as is common in Hebrew poetry; e. g.: --

At her feet he bowed, he fell:
Where he bowed, there he fell down dead.