parent

English Online Dictionary. What means parent‎? What does parent mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English parent, borrowed from Anglo-Norman parent, Middle French parent, from Latin parentem, accusative of parēns (“parent”), present participle of pariō (“I breed, bring forth”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpæɹ.ənt/, /ˈpɛə.ɹənt/; enPR: părʹ-ənt, pâʹ-rənt
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɛɹ.ənt/, /ˈpæɹ.ənt/; enPR: pârʹ-ənt, părʹ-ənt
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)ənt, -æɹənt

Noun

parent (plural parents)

1. (often in the plural) A person who raises a child (which they have made, adopted, fostered, taken as their own, etc.). [from 15th c.]

   Synonyms: genitor, progenitor

   Antonyms: child, offspring

   Hyponyms: father, mother

2. (often in the plural) A person who has had a baby; this person in relation to their child or children.
3. A surrogate parent.
4. A third person who has provided DNA samples in an IVF procedure in order to alter faulty genetic material.
5. (obsolete) A relative. [15th–18th c.]
6. The source or origin of something. [from 16th c.]
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.]

   Synonym: mother

   Antonym: child

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

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

parent (third-person singular simple present 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 children.

Derived terms

• parenting
• parentize
• parentify

Translations

See also

• foster

References

Anagrams

• -pteran, Panter, Parten, arpent, enrapt, entrap, panter, trepan

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin parentem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [pəˈɾen]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [pəˈɾent]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [paˈɾent]

Noun

parent m (plural parents, feminine parenta)

1. relative (someone in the same family)

Derived terms

• emparentar

Related terms

• parentiu

References

• “parent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “parent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “parent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “parent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle French parent, from Old French parent, from Latin parentem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa.ʁɑ̃/

Noun

parent m (plural parents, feminine parente)

1. relative, relation, family member
2. (North America, in the singular) parent
3. (in the plural) ancestors
4. (especially in the plural) parents

Derived terms

Adjective

parent (feminine parente, masculine plural parents, feminine plural parentes)

1. related
2. similar

Derived terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paʁ/
• Homophones: pare, pares

Verb

parent

1. third-person plural present indicative/subjunctive of parer

Further reading

• “parent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• arpent, râpent

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.rent/, [ˈpärɛn̪t̪]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.rent/, [ˈpäːren̪t̪]

Verb

parent

1. third-person plural present active subjunctive of parō

Verb

pārent

1. third-person plural present active indicative of pāreō

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French parent.

Noun

parent m (plural parens)

1. parent

Descendants

• French: parent

Norman

Alternative forms

• pathent (Jersey)

Etymology

From Old French parent, from Latin parēns, parentem, from pariō, parere (“bring forth, give birth to, produce”).

Noun

parent m (plural parents)

1. (Guernsey) parent

   Hyponyms: mère, père

Old French

Etymology

From Latin parēns, parentem.

Noun

parent oblique singular, m (oblique plural parenz or parentz, nominative singular parenz or parentz, nominative plural parent)

1. parent

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Middle English: parent
  • English: parent
• Middle French: parent
  • French: parent
• Norman: parent (Guernsey), pathent (Jersey)