Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Parboil

Parboil , transitive verb

[Old English parboilen, Old French parbouillir to cook well; par through (see Par) + bouillir to boil, Latin bullire. The sense has been influenced by English part. See 1st Boil.]

1.
To boil or cook thoroughly. [Obsolete] — B. Jonson
2.
To boil in part; to cook partially by boiling.
3.
To do (something) only part way, or incompletely. Also used intransitively. [Figurative]