Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PAR'O-DY, n. [Fr. parodie; Gr. παρῳδια; παρα and ῳδη, ode.]

1. A kind of writing in which the words of an author or his thoughts are, by some slight alterations, adapted to a different purpose; a kind of poetical pleasantry, in which verses, written on one subject, are altered and applied to another by way of burlesque. – Johnson. Encyc.
2. A popular maxim, adage or proverb. – Encyc.