parry
UK: ˈpæri | US: ˈpæri
vt. to ward off or deflect (a weapon, attack, or question) skillfully
n. an act of deflecting or evading a blow or question
The word "parry" originates from the French parer ("to ward off"), which traces back to Latin parare ("to prepare"). The "-ry" suffix is an English adaptation of the French infinitive ending -er. Historically, the term was used in fencing to describe deflecting an opponent's strike, later extending metaphorically to verbal or strategic evasion. The morpheme "par" preserves the core idea of defense, while "-ry" marks it as a verb.
The fencer used a quick motion to parry the opponent's lunge.
She skillfully parried the journalist's probing questions.
His argument was weak, so he tried to parry with humor.
The boxer trained daily to improve his ability to parry punches.
The CEO parried criticisms about the company's policies during the interview.