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.
© Webster 1913.