Parenteser

Parenteser is the Danish and Norwegian term for parentheses, the punctuation marks used to set off text that is supplementary or nonessential to the main sentence. In Danish and Norwegian typography, a pair of symbols—round brackets ()—is the most common way to enclose such material. The plural form is parenteser, while the singular is parentes. Other bracket types appear in specialized contexts: square brackets [ ] are used for editorial insertions or to indicate changes within quoted text; curly braces { } are primarily found in mathematics, science, or computer code; and angle brackets < > occur in some technical writing.

Functions: Parentheses indicate that the enclosed information can be omitted without destroying the sentence's core meaning. They can present clarifications, abbreviations spelled out on first use, or optional elements in a list. They may also enclose numbers, dates, or references.

Punctuation: Style guides differ on how punctuation interacts with parentheses. In many cases a sentence-ending period belongs inside the closing parenthesis if the entire sentence is within parentheses; otherwise, the period typically follows the outside of the closing parenthesis. Commas and other punctuation are usually placed inside when they pertain to the parenthetical material, and outside when they pertain to the surrounding text.

Etymology: The term derives from the Greek paréntēsis, meaning "a placing beside" or "placing next to." In English, the word "parenthesis" has the plural "parentheses." See also: Parentesis.