What does parted mean?
Parted is a common word with several related uses. As an adjective, it describes something divided or separated, as in parted curtains, parted hair, or a road that parted into two tracks. It can also suggest people or groups going their separate ways, especially in phrases such as parted company or when the word is used in a literary or emotional context. As a verb, parted is the past tense and past participle of part: someone parts their hair, two people part company, or a river parts around an island. The word often appears in poetry and songs because it combines a physical idea of separation with the familiar experience of leaving someone behind. It is used in both British and American English, with a difference in the first vowel sound between the main regional varieties.
Separated or divided into different parts; separated from someone or something; having a dividing line through the middle.
"She brushed her parted hair behind her ears before the interview."
Common in fixed expressions such as parted lips, parted curtains, and parted ways. The emotional sense is especially common in literary and poetic contexts.
Past tense and past participle of part: to divide or separate, to move away from someone, or to leave.
"The crowd parted to let the emergency responders through."
The sense meaning to depart is more literary or formal than the sense meaning to divide or separate.
Parted has a quiet double life: it can describe anything split into two, but it also carries the emotional image of people saying goodbye.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does parted come from?
The word derives from part, which comes through Old French from Latin pars, meaning a portion or piece. The forms partition, portion, and participate ultimately relate to the Latin verb partiri, “to divide,” while part developed in the sense of a piece or a person’s side. Parted is the regular past-tense and past-participle form of part, and the adjective developed from that participial use.
Related word forms
How parted is actually used
The adjective is neutral in most contexts, although phrases such as parted lips and parted ways can suggest emotional or literary associations. As a verb, it is formal or literary when it means to depart and more common when it means to divide or separate. The pronunciation of the first vowel varies between British and American English.