In rhetoric, a parenthesis (plural: parentheses; from the Greek word παρενθεσις) is (according to the Oxford English Dictionary) Rhetoric (from Greek ÏητωÏ, rhêtôr, orator) is one of the three original liberal arts or trivium (the other members are dialectic and grammar). ... The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a comprehensive dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). ...
"An explanatory or qualifying word, clause, or sentence inserted into a passage with which it has not necessarily any grammatical connexion, and from which it is usually marked off by round or square brackets, dashes, or commas."
See parenthesis for an account of the rhetorical concept from which the name of the punctuation mark is derived. ...
Examples
Consider this sentence:
Karl, a great singer, was not a good dancer.
The phrase a great singer, set off by commas, is a parenthesis.
A dog (not a cat) is an animal that barks.
A dog (not a cat) is an animal that barks. The page is edited
The phrase not a cat is a parenthesis.
Addressing a person by name can also be parenthetic, as in: Please, Duncan, come here!
Punctuation
By extension, the word parentheses, seldom used in the singular, has come to refer to the round brackets in which a parenthesis is often enclosed in writing. See bracket for an account of these punctuation marks. See parenthesis for an account of the rhetorical concept from which the name of the punctuation mark is derived. ... See parenthesis for an account of the rhetorical concept from which the name of the punctuation mark is derived. ...
Parentheses are used around text that adds extra information to what has gone before: She was suffering from rubella (German measles);The noun "dessert" (with a double "s") is pronounced the same as the verb "desert";a protest against GM (genetically modified) crops.
Note that there should be no punctuation directly before the opening parenthesis in such cases.
Parentheses are also used around optional or alternative material: Please write your forename(s) in full, or to separate something, e.g., a number or symbol, from the surrounding text: I disagree with the proposal, (a) because it is too expensive, and (b) because it is unlikely to be effective in the long term.
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