From Middle English parent, borrowed from Anglo-Norman parent, Middle French parent, from Latin parentem, accusative of parēns, present participle of pariō.

• (RP) IPA: /ˈpæɹ.ənt/, /ˈpɛə.ɹənt/; enPR: părʹ-ənt, pâʹ-rənt
• (America) IPA: /ˈpɛɚ.ənt/, /ˈpæɹ.ənt/; enPR: pârʹ-ənt, părʹ-ənt

parent (plural parents)

1. One of the two persons from whom one is immediately biologically descended; a mother or father. [from 15th c.]

   After both her parents were killed in a forest fire, Sonia was adopted by her aunt and uncle.

   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene ii]:

     my trust / Like a good parent, did beget of him / A falsehood in it's contrarie, as great / As my trust was, which had indeede no limit, / A confidence sans bound.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, John [https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1611_John-Chapter-9/#19–20 9:19–20]:

     And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind […]

   Synonyms: genitor, progenitor

   Antonyms: child, offspring

   Hyponyms: father, mother

2. A surrogate parent.
3. A third person who has provided DNA samples in an IVF procedure in order to alter faulty genetic material.
4. A person who acts as a parent in rearing a child; a step-parent or adoptive parent.
5. (obsolete) A relative. [15th]
6. The source or origin of something. [from 16th c.]
   • 1785, Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia:

     Misery is often the parent of the most affecting touches in poetry.

   • 1789, The Critical Review, Or, Annals of Literature, volume 68, page 341:

     Indolence and unalimentary food are the parents of this disease; but to neither are Indians accustomed.

7. (biology) An organism from which a plant or animal is immediately biologically descended. [from 17th c.]
8. (attributive) Sponsor, supporter, owner, protector.
   1. A parent company. [from 20th c.]
9. (computing) The object from which a child or derived object is descended; a node superior to another node. [from 20th c.]

   Synonyms: mother

   Antonyms: child

10. (physics) The nuclide that decays into a daughter nuclide.

• French: (♂♀) parent, géniteur, génitrice
• German: Elternteil, (technical) Elter
• Italian: genitore, genitrice
• Portuguese: pai, genitor
• Russian: роди́тель
• Spanish: padre (father), madre (mother), progenitor

• German: Elternteil, Eltern
• Portuguese: pai
• Russian: опеку́н

• German: Elternpflanze (plant), männliche Elternpflanze (male), weibliche Elternpflanze (female), Vaterpflanze (male), Mutterpfanze (female), Elterntier (animal), männliches Elterntier (male), weibliches Elterntier (female), Vater (male), Vatertier (male), Mutter (female), Muttertier (female)
• Russian: роди́тель

• Portuguese: pai, mãe
• Russian: исто́чник

parent (parents, present participle parenting; simple past and past participle parented)

1. To act as parent, to raise or rear.

   Synonyms: raise, rear

2. (programming) To provide a parent object for one or more other objects, which become the child.

1. Surname.