PARCEL (Fr. parcelle, Ital. particella,

See also:

• LAT

Lat. particela, diminutive of pars,

See also:

• PART

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, &c., or by post; hence the f erm " parcel-post " for the branch of the post-office 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," &c . This use survives in " parcel-gilt," i.e. partly gilt, a term applied to articles made of silver with a gilt lining .