Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Parent \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}.