parent
Pronunciation
  • (America) IPA: /ˈpɛəɹənt/, /ˈpeəɹənt/, /ˈpæɹənt/; enPR pârʹ-ənt
  • (RP) IPA: /ˈpɛəɹənt/; enPR: pârʹ-ənt
Noun

parent (plural parents)

  1. One of the two persons from whom one is immediately biologically descended; a mother or father. [from 15th c.]
    • c. 1595, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, First Folio 1623, I.2:
      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), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981 ↗, John [http://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 […]
    • 2005, Siobhan O'Neill, The Guardian, 24 Aug 2005:
      The NHS is naturally pro-immunisation, reassuring parents that their babies can easily cope with these jabs.
    Synonyms: progenitor
    Antonyms: child, offspring
    hypo en
  2. A surrogate mother
  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-18th c.]
  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.
  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
Translations Translations Translations
  • 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
Translations
  • Portuguese: pai, mãe
  • Russian: исто́чник
Verb

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

  1. To act as parent, to raise or rear.
    Synonyms: raise, rear
    • 2006, Natalie Bandlow, Parent to Child the Guide: How to Create a Comprehensive And Meaningful Journal to Prepare Your Child for Life, iUniverse (ISBN 9780595385874), page 1:
      However, even with money and caregivers, the child is left without a parent and most likely without a plan for their emotional, psychological, and spiritual well-being. A time will come when you will no longer be able to parent your child, period.



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