Parcel
PARCEL (Fr. parcelle, Ital. particella, Lat. parlicida, diminutive of pars, part), a small part or division of anything; particularly, in the law of real property and conveyancing, a portion of a manor or estate, and so the name of that portion of a legal document, such as a conveyance or lease relating to lands, which contains a description of the estate dealt with. The word is also used of a package of goods contained in a wrapping or cover for transmission by carriage, etc., or by post; hence the term " parcel-post " for the branch of the post-oiSce service which deals with the transmission of such packages. " Parcel " was formerly used in an adverbial or quasi-adverbial sense, meaning " partly," " to some extent," thus " parcel-Protestant," "parcel-lawyer," etc. This use survives in "parcel-gilt," i.e. partly gilt, a term applied to articles made of silver with a gilt lining.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
