Wiktionary
n. (context computing English) A physical interface capable of transmitting multiple bits of data simultaneously, unlike a serial port.
WordNet
n. an interface between a computer and a printer where the computer sends multiple bits of information to the printer simultaneously [syn: parallel interface]
Wikipedia
A parallel port is a type of interface found on computers ( personal and otherwise) for connecting peripherals. In computing, a parallel port is a parallel communication physical interface. It is also known as a printer port or Centronics port. It was an industry de facto standard for many years, and was finally standardized as IEEE 1284 in the late 1990s, which defined the Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) and Extended Capability Port (ECP) bi-directional versions. Today, the parallel port interface is virtually non-existent because of the rise of Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices, along with network printing using Ethernet and Wi-Fi connected printers.
The parallel port interface was originally known as the Parallel Printer Adapter on IBM PC-compatible computers. It was primarily designed to operate printers that used IBM's 8-bit extended ASCII character set to print text, but could also be used to adapt other peripherals. Graphical printers, along with a host of other devices, have been designed to communicate with the system.
Usage examples of "parallel port".
One had a parallel port ctor, the other a phone-style plug-in jack.
You don't use the parallel port anyway, and I can put it back afterward.
By the time he had the device out and working, Liu had slapped a special modem on the parallel port of the computer and began sending the contents of its hard drive back to Dreamland.