parent

A1 Topic:Family & Relationships

US /ˈpɛ(ə)ɹənt/ UK /ˈpɛəɹənt/ See IPA manual

Freq #3686

Meanings

1

noun
A person's mother or father.

Both of her parents came to watch the school play.
2

verb
To raise and care for a child.

It is not easy to parent a teenager while working full time.
3

noun
The thing that something else comes from or grows out of.

Curiosity is often the parent of great discoveries.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to raise and care for a child. raise rear nurture

Word family

Forms parentlessparents

Derived forms alloparentbioparentbirthparentco-parentco-parent-in-lawforeparentgodparent grandparentguideparentheliparenthouseparentinterparent

Related forms antepartumfosterparouspost-partum

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

Proverbs (1)

See all

There is no such thing as a bad child
Matching variant: There are no bad children, only bad parents

Simplified etymology

Parent came into late Middle English from a form ultimately based on Latin parere ‘to bring forth’. The same Latin verb forms the second element of viviparous, literally describing the production of live young.

Etymology

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”).

*per- Proto-Indo-European parent Middle English parentem Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Family & Relationships

External links

# parent

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɛ(ə)ɹənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɛəɹənt/
**Frequency rank:** 3686

## Meanings
1. A person's mother or father.
2. To raise and care for a child.
3. The thing that something else comes from or grows out of.

## Examples
- Both of her parents came to watch the school play.
- It is not easy to parent a teenager while working full time.
- Curiosity is often the parent of great discoveries.

## Derived Forms
- alloparent
- bioparent
- birthparent
- co-parent
- co-parent-in-law
- foreparent
- godparent
- grandparent
- guideparent
- heliparent
- houseparent
- interparent

## Related Forms
- antepartum
- foster
- parous
- post-partum

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *per-
- Root: parent
- Root: parentem

## Etymology
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”).

## AI Etymology
Parent comes 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”). The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *per-, Middle English parent, xno parent, Middle French parent, and Latin parentem. Modern senses include a person's mother or father and to raise and care for a child. The wider word family includes derivatives such as alloparent, bioparent, birthparent, co-parent, co-parent-in-law, and foreparent and related forms such as antepartum, foster, parous, and post-partum.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships

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