Adjacent Words

Parent definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PA'RENT, n. [L. parens, from pario, to produce or bring forth. The regular participle of pario is pariens,and parens is the regular participle of pareo, to appear.]
1. A father or mother; he or she that produces young. The duties of parents to their children are to maintain, protect and educate them.
When parents are wanting in authority, children are wanting in duty.
2. That which produces; cause; source.
Idleness is the parent of vice.
Regular industry is the parent of sobriety.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a father or mother; one who begets or one who gives birth to or nurtures and raises a child; a relative who plays the role of guardian [ant: child, kid]
2: an organism (plant or animal) from which younger ones are obtained v
1: bring up; "raise a family"; "bring up children" [syn: rear, raise, bring up, nurture, parent]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin parent-, parens; akin to Latin parere to give birth to Date: 15th century 1. a. one that begets or brings forth offspring b. a person who brings up and cares for another 2. a. an animal or plant that is regarded in relation to its offspring b. the material or source from which something is derived c. a group from which another arises and to which it usually remains subsidiary <a parent company> • parent adjective • parental adjective • parentally adverb • parentless adjective II. verb Date: 1663 transitive verb to be or act as the parent of ; originate, produce intransitive verb to be or act as a parent

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a person who has begotten or borne offspring; a father or mother. 2 a person who has adopted a child. 3 a forefather. 4 an animal or plant from which others are derived. 5 a source or origin. 6 an initiating organization or enterprise. --v.tr. (also absol.) be a parent of. Phrases and idioms: parent company a company of which other companies are subsidiaries. parent-teacher association a local organization of parents and teachers for promoting closer relations and improving educational facilities at a school. Derivatives: parental adj. parentally adv. parenthood n. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L parens parentis f. parere bring forth

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Parent Par"ent, n. [L. parens, -entis; akin to parere to bring forth; cf. Gr. ? to give, beget: cf. F. parent. Cf. Part.] 1. One who begets, or brings forth, offspring; a father or a mother. Children, obey your parents in the Lord. --Eph. vi. 1. 2. That which produces; cause; source; author; begetter; as, idleness is the parent of vice. Regular industry is the parent of sobriety. --Channing. Parent cell. (Biol.) See Mother cell, under Mother, also Cytula. Parent nucleus (Biol.), a nucleus which, in cell division, divides, and gives rise to two or more daughter nuclei. See Karyokinesis, and Cell division, under Division.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(parents) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. Your parents are your mother and father. Children need their parents... When you become a parent the things you once cared about seem to have less value. N-COUNT: usu pl see also foster parent, one-parent family, single parent 2. An organization's parent organization is the organization that created it and usually still controls it. Each unit including the parent company has its own, local management. ADJ: ADJ n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

par'-ent.

See CHILDREN; CRIMES; EDUCATION; FAMILY; PUNISHMENTS.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Father or mother. 2. Author. 3. Cause, source, producer.

Moby Thesaurus

agent, ancestor, ancestorial, ancestral, ancestress, author, begetter, beginner, catalyst, causer, creator, effector, engenderer, father, fatherlike, fatherly, generator, grandfatherly, grandmotherly, grandparent, grandparental, guardian, inspirer, instigator, maker, mater, materfamilias, maternal, mother, motherlike, motherly, mover, origin, originator, parental, pater, paterfamilias, paternal, patriarchal, prime mover, primum mobile, procreator, producer, progenitor, progenitress, progenitrix, root, sire, source, stepfather, stepmother