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# parsee

noun (a Parsee, Parsees); also spelt Parsi; adjective (Parsee)

«parsee» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A member of a community of Zoroastrians in India and Pakistan whose families came from Persia (Iran) more than a thousand years ago. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parsee/#m1)
2. In the Just So Story «How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin», the Parsee is a man on an island in the Red Sea whose cake the Rhinoceros eats; to get even, the Parsee rubs cake-crumbs into the Rhinoceros's skin, which makes it itch so he rubs it into folds. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parsee/#m2)

### In the lessons

The Parsis follow Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest religions, and many live in Mumbai. In the story, the Parsee wears a hat from which «the rays of the sun were reflected in more-than-oriental splendour»; the tale is a made-up explanation of why rhinos have baggy, folded skin — not a true one. Today «Parsi» is the usual spelling.

### Examples

- The Parsee baked a cake that was two feet across and three feet thick. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parsee/#x1)
- The Rhinoceros ate the Parsee's cake and went away. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parsee/#x2)
- The Parsee filled the Rhinoceros's skin with cake-crumbs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parsee/#x3)
- Many Parsis live in the city of Mumbai in India. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parsee/#x4)
- Parsis follow the Zoroastrian religion. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parsee/#x5)
- The Parsee sang a little song as he climbed down from his palm tree. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parsee/#x6)
- Real rhinos have folded skin, but not because of cake crumbs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parsee/#x7)

### Note

Write with a capital P. Modern spelling Parsi, plural Parsis. Kipling's story is a «just so» explanation, not a true science fact.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «parsee» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/parsee/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«parsee» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/parsee.html) on Mova free.