Para- is an interesting prefix - whose meaning is better understood when we look to the original French.
The French word for falls is chute; a parachute protects us from falls (a 'serious' fall - like from an airplane),
The French word for rain is pluie; and what we call an umbrella, they call a parapluie.
Who can envision a Belle Epoch painting of people enjoying the day in a French park without the lovely mademoiselles holding parasols - protecting their delicate features from le Soleil - the Sun.
One then wonders from what a para-legal protects us. And a para-medic?
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