parent

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parent^¹

/ˈpɛəɹənt/ UK
/ˈpɛːɹənt/ British, Southern, Standard
/ˈpɛəɹənt/ US
/ˈpæɹənt/ US
/ˈpɛɹənt/
/ˈpeːɹənt/ Australia
/ˈpeəɹənt/ New Zealand
/ˈpiəɹənt/
/ˈpeɾənt/ Scotland
/ˈpɜːɹənt/
/ˈpɛː.reɳʈ/ India
/ˈpæː.renʈ/ India
/ˈpeː.reɳʈ/ India

Rhymes with -ɛəɹənt, -æɹənt

Where it comes from

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

noun parents

in plural, often A person who raises a child (which they have made, adopted, fostered, taken as their own, etc.). After both her parents were killed in a forest fire, Sonia was adopted by her aunt and uncle.
Similar: genitor, progenitor · Opposite: child, offspring
in plural, often A person who has had a baby; this person in relation to their child or children.
A surrogate parent.
A third person who has provided DNA samples in an IVF procedure in order to alter faulty genetic material.
obsolete A relative.
The source or origin of something. Misery is often the parent of the most affecting touches in poetry.
An organism from which a plant or animal is immediately biologically descended.
attributive Sponsor, supporter, owner, protector. The dinghy was trailing astern at the end of its painter, and Merrion looked at it as he passed. He saw that it was a battered-looking affair of the prahm type, with a blunt snout, and like the parent ship, had recently been painted a vivid green.
attributive A parent company. The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them[…]is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies.[…]current tax rules make it easy for all sorts of firms to generate[…]“stateless income”: profit subject to tax in a jurisdiction that is neither
The object from which a child or derived object is descended; a node superior to another node.
Similar: mother · Opposite: child
The nuclide that decays into a daughter nuclide.

verb parents · parenting · parented

intransitive, transitive To act as parent, to raise or rear. 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.
Similar: raise, rear
To provide a parent object for one or more other objects, which become the children.

Parent^²

proper noun

A surname.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: rear, raise, nurture, bring up, parenthood, father, paternal, sibling, kinsman, surrogacy, dad, cousin, kin, progenitor, maternal, family

Translations

Every language

noun person from whom one is descended

Español	padre, madre, progenitor, xadre
한국어	부모 bumo, 어버이 eobeoi, 부모님 bumonim
日本語	親 oya, 父母 fubo, 両親 ryōshin
中文	親 /亲 qīn, 父母 fùmǔ, 家長 /家长 jiāzhǎng
हिन्दी	माता-पिता mātā-pitā, माँ-बाप mā̃-bāp
Kiswahili	mzazi
Português	pai, genitor, progenitor
Français	parent, géniteur, génitrice
Deutsch	Elternteil, Elter
Italiano	genitore, genitrice
Ελληνικά	γονέας gonéas, γεννήτορας gennítoras
Română	părinte
Русский	роди́тель rodítelʹ, роди́тельница rodítelʹnica, пре́док prédok
Tiếng Việt	phụ huynh
العربية	وَالِد wālid, وَالِدَة wālida, وَالِدَان wālidān
עברית	הוֹרֶה horé

noun person who acts as a parent in rearing a child — see also guardian

한국어	보호자 bohoja
日本語	保護者 hogosha, 養父母 yōfubo
中文	監護人 /监护人 jiānhùrén
हिन्दी	अभिभावक abhibhāvak
Português	pai
Deutsch	Elternteil, Eltern
Ελληνικά	γονέας gonéas
Русский	опеку́н opekún, попечи́тель popečítelʹ, попечи́тельница popečítelʹnica

noun source or origin of something

日本語	親 oya
Kiswahili	mzazi
Português	pai, mãe
Русский	исто́чник istóčnik, причи́на pričína

noun biology: organism from which a plant or animal is biologically descended

日本語	親 oya
Kiswahili	mzazi
Deutsch	Elternpflanze, männliche Elternpflanze, weibliche Elternpflanze, Vaterpflanze, Mutterpfanze, Elterntier
Русский	роди́тель rodítelʹ, роди́тельница rodítelʹnica

noun computing: object from which a child or derived object is descended

日本語	親 oya
Tiếng Việt	mẹ

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Cite this

MLA

"parent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/parent. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

parent. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/parent

Chicago

"parent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/parent.

BibTeX

@misc{parent_2026,
  title = {parent},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/parent},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}