definition of parapublic?

Answer 1

'Parapublic' seems to be hard to find. I only found it in the context of "public or parapublic organizations" on French-Canadian pages. Perhaps in this case, the prefix 'para-' is used in the same way as "paralegal," "parapsychology," or "paraprofessional," in which case it means "subsidiary or assisting." Or perhaps it means "distinct from, but analogous to," in the way of "paramilitary."

The source page defines "parapublic" as an French adjective meaning "paragovernmental," but no other information is given. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I think the word is more generally used in the French language and may be quite common in Canada. Seems to refer to things like hospitals.