Etymologically
Log in

parent

Etymology and origin of the English word parent

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1413
Borrowed from
Old French parent via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (parens)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈpeə.rənt/, US /ˈper.ənt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English parent,[2] borrowed from Old French parent (“father, parent, relative, kin”) (11th century),[3][4] and directly from Latin parēns (“father or mother, ancestor”), plural parentēs,[3][4][5] a noun use of the participle of parere “to bring forth, give birth to, produce”,[3][4][2] from Proto-Indo-European *pere- (“to produce, bring forth”).[3] It is related to pare and viper.[4][2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A progenitor, forefather: 1413 in the OED;[7] the plural parents before 1410 in Barnhart.[4] Father or mother: about 1450 in the OED,[7] the early 15th century in Etymonline.[3] It is found as a surname in the late 12th century.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

It began to replace the native word elder about 1500.[3] A relative or kinsman, as in French and the other Romance languages, is from before 1450 and now obsolete.[7][5] A person acting as a parent is from 1526,[7] a source or cause from 1590,[7] and any animal or plant in relation to its offspring from 1774.[7] The attributive use, as in parent company, is from 1646.[7] The verb, to be or act as a parent to, is from 1663,[7][4] and intransitive parenting from 1959, in American English.[7][3][4] Parentage is from 1490,[4] parental 1623[4] and parenthood 1856.[4]

Timeline

  • 1413 – a progenitor.[7]
  • c. 1450 – father or mother.[7]
  • a. 1450 – a relative (obsolete).[7]
  • 1490 – parentage.[4]
  • 1590 – a source.[7]
  • 1663 – verb.[7][4]
  • 1774 – of animals and plants.[7]
  • 1959 – parenting.[7][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A father or mother, or a person who raises a child.
  2. An ancestor.
  3. An animal or plant that produces offspring.
  4. A source or origin; also used of a company that owns others: parent company.

Verb

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

Word family

  • parenthood
  • parental
  • parentally
  • parentless
  • parentlike
  • stepparent
  • parentage
  • antepartum
  • parous
  • -parous
  • pare
  • viper
  • parturition

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Parent.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/parent. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·