Standard Lemma guide

parallax

noun · verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈpæɹ.əˌlæks/
  • British, Southern, Standard: /ˈpaɹəˌlaks/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: P EH1 R AH0 L AE2 K S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An apparent shift in the position of two stationary objects relative to each other as viewed by an observer, due to a change in observer position.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The angle of seeing of the astronomical unit.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: astronomy, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To measure (a distance) based on parallax observations.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To produce an illusion of levels of distance by shifting layers at different rates.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: animation

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

the apparent displacement of an object as seen from two different points that are not on a line with the object

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: optical phenomenon

Narrower terms: heliocentric parallax, annual parallax, geocentric parallax, diurnal parallax

History

Etymology

From Middle French parallaxe, from Ancient Greek παράλλαξις (parállaxis, “alteration”) from παραλλάσσω (parallássō, “to cause to alternate”) from ἀλλάσσω (allássō, “to alter”) from ἄλλος (állos, “other”). See also para- and allo-.

Across languages

Translations

32 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: paral·laxi — shift
  • Chinese Mandarin: 視差 /视差 (shìchā) — shift
  • Czech: paralaxa — shift
  • Danish: parallakse — shift
  • Esperanto: paralakso — shift
  • Estonian: parallaks — shift
  • Finnish: parallaksi — shift
  • French: parallaxe — shift
  • Galician: paralaxe — shift
  • German: Parallaxe — shift
  • Greek: παράλλαξη (parállaxi) — shift
  • Haitian Creole: paralaks — shift
  • Hungarian: parallaxis — shift
  • Icelandic: hliðrun — shift
  • Irish: saobhdhiall — shift
  • Italian: parallasse — shift
  • Japanese: 視差 (shisa) — shift
  • Kazakh: параллакс (parallaks) — shift
  • Latvian: paralakse — shift
  • Luxembourgish: parallax — shift
  • Norwegian: parallakse — shift
  • Polish: paralaksa — shift
  • Portuguese: paralaxe — shift
  • Romanian: paralaxă — shift
  • Russian: паралла́кс (paralláks) — shift
  • Sicilian: parallassi — shift
  • Slovene: paralaksa — shift
  • Spanish: paralaje — shift
  • Tamil: இடமாறுதோற்றம் (iṭamāṟutōṟṟam) — shift
  • Turkish: paralaks — shift
  • Vietnamese: thị sai — shift
  • Welsh: paralacs — shift