---
tags:
  - language
---
"Para" comes from Greek and has different meanings in different contexts. For example we also see it in "Paranormal" where "para" stands for something as "irregular" or "abnormal".
"Paralegal" or "paramedic" it mean "ancillary" which means to provide support (ancillary system == support system).
It can also mean "protection against" as in "parasol" or "parachute".

In our case of "parametric" and "parameter"