Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Parcel

Parcel , noun

[French parcelle a small part, from (assumed) Late Latin particella, dim. of Latin pars. See Part, n., and compare Particle.]

1.
A portion of anything taken separately; a fragment of a whole; a part. [Archaic]
A parcel of her woe. — Chaucer
Two parcels of the white of an egg. — Arbuthnot
The parcels of the nation adopted different forms of self-government. — J. A. Symonds
2.
(Law) A part; a portion; a piece; as, a certain piece of land is part and parcel of another piece.
3.
An indiscriminate or indefinite number, measure, or quantity; a collection; a group.
This youthful parcel Of noble bachelors stand at my disposing. — Shakespeare
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
Collocations (4)
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.

Parcel , transitive verb

1.
To divide and distribute by parts or portions; -- often with out or into.
Their woes are parceled, mine are general. — Shakespeare
These ghostly kings would parcel out my power. — Dryden
The broad woodland parceled into farms. — Tennyson
2.
To add a parcel or item to; to itemize. [Rare]
That mine own servant should Parcel the sum of my disgraces by Addition of his envy. — Shakespeare
3.
To make up into a parcel; as, to parcel a customer's purchases; the machine parcels yarn, wool, etc.
Collocations (2)
To parcel a rope (Nautical) , to wind strips of tarred canvas tightly arround it. — Totten
To parcel a seam (Nautical) , to cover it with a strip of tarred canvas.

Parcel , adjective and adverb

Part or half; in part; partially. [Sometimes hyphened with the word following.] — Shakespeare
The worthy dame was parcel-blind. — Sir W. Scott
One that... was parcel-bearded [partially bearded]. — Tennyson
Collocations (1)
Parcel poet , a half poet; a poor poet. [Obsolete] — B. Jonson