parent

 
Pronunciation: /ˈpɛːr(ə)nt/

noun

  • a person’s father or mother: the parents of the bride his adoptive parents
  • archaic a forefather or ancestor: God’s hand had written in the hearts of our first parents all the rules of good
  • an animal or plant from which new ones are derived: stems will root down, creating a new crown near the parent
  • a source or origin of a smaller or less important part: [as modifier]: some of the whetstones have been transported up to 400 km from the parent rock
  • [often as modifier] an organization or company which owns or controls a number of subsidiaries: policy considerations were determined largely by the parent company

verb

[with object] (often as noun parenting)
  • be or act as a mother or father to (someone): exhaustion is incompatible with good parenting all children are special to those who parent them [no object]: we are losing our intuitive ability to parent

Derivatives

parental

Pronunciation: /pəˈrɛnt(ə)l/
adjective

parentally

Pronunciation: /pəˈrɛnt(ə)li/
adverb

parentless

adjective

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French, from Latin parent- 'bringing forth', from the verb parere. The verb dates from the mid 17th century