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parent

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par⋅ent

  [pair-uhnt, par-]
Use parent in a Sentence
–noun
1. a father or a mother.
2. an ancestor, precursor, or progenitor.
3. a source, origin, or cause.
4. a protector or guardian.
5. Biology. any organism that produces or generates another.
6. Physics. the first nuclide in a radioactive series.
–adjective
7. being the original source: a parent organization.
8. Biology. pertaining to an organism, cell, or complex molecular structure that generates or produces another: parent cell; parent DNA.
–verb (used with object)
9. to be or act as parent of: to parent children with both love and discipline.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME (< MF) < L parent- (s. of parēns), n. use of prp. of parere to bring forth, breed

Related forms:
par⋅ent⋅less, adjective
par⋅ent⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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par·ent   (pâr'ənt, pār'-)   
n.  

  1. One who begets, gives birth to, or nurtures and raises a child; a father or mother.

  2. An ancestor; a progenitor.

  3. An organism that produces or generates offspring.

  4. A guardian; a protector.

  5. A parent company.

  6. A source or cause; an origin: Despair is the parent of rebellion.

v.   par·ent·ed, par·ent·ing, par·ents

v.   tr.

  1. To act as a parent to; raise and nurture: "A genitor who does not parent the child is not its parent" (Ashley Montagu).

  2. To cause to come into existence; originate.

v.   intr.
To act as a parent.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin parēns, parent-, from past active participle of parere, to give birth; see perə-1 in Indo-European roots.]
par'ent·hood' n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

parent 
1185, from O.Fr. parent (11c.), from L. parentem (nom. parens) "father or mother, ancestor," noun use of prp. of parere "bring forth, give birth to, produce," from PIE base *per- "to bring forth" (see pare). Began to replace native elder after c.1500. The verb is attested from 1663. The verbal noun parenting is first recorded 1959 (earlier term had been parentcraft, 1930).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: par·ent
Function: noun
1 a : a person who begets or brings forth offspring; especially : the natural parents of a child born of their marriage
NOTE: The biological father of an illegitimate child is usually not considered the child's parent absent a judicial determination of paternity. There have been exceptions, based mainly on the father's attitude toward, support of, or involvement with the child. b : a person who legally adopts a child c : a person or entity that owes to a child a legally imposed duty of support d : a stepparent where designated by statute
2 : an entity or group that gives rise to or acquires another usually subsidiary entity or group parent company>; specifically : a corporation that owns a required minimum percentage of the stock of another corporation —compare AFFILIATE —parent adjective —pa·ren·tal /p&-'ren-t&l/ adjective —pa·ren·tal·ly adverb —par·ent·less adjective
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: par·ent
Pronunciation: 'par-&nt, 'per-
Function: noun
1 : one that begets or brings forth offspring
2 : the material or source from which something is derived —parent adjective —pa·ren·tal /p&-'rent-&l/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

parent par·ent (pâr'ənt, pār'-)
n.

  1. One who begets, gives birth to, or nurtures and raises a child; a father or a mother.

  2. An ancestor; a progenitor.

  3. An organism that produces or generates offspring.

v. par·ent·ed, par·ent·ing, par·ents

  1. To act as a parent to; to rear and nurture.

  2. To cause to come into existence; to serve as a source for; originate.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Computing Dictionary

parent mathematics, data
The ancestor node in a tree that points to the current node (one of its child nodes).
(2005-09-15)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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