释义 |
par·ent I. \ˈpa(a)rənt, ˈper-\ noun (-s) Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin parent-, parens, from present participle of parere to give birth to, beget, produce — more at pare 1. a. : one that begets or brings forth offspring : father, mother b. law (1) : a lawful parent (2) : a person standing in loco parentis although not a natural parent (3) : ancestor — compare patria potestas 2. obsolete : relative 3a 3. a. : an animal or plant regarded in relation to its offspring < the genetic identity of a particular parent tree — Farmer's Weekly (South Africa) > b. : the material or source from which something is derived : author, cause, origin < means of determining the rate of weathering of the parent rock — J.P.Minard > < the outermost electrons can be detached from their parent atoms — Leonard Engel > < while liberty was the parent of eloquence, eloquence was the stay of liberty — Van Wyck Brooks > c. : a group (as a society, church, or business) from which another takes its rise and to which it sometimes remains subsidiary < produces shoe linings for its parent firm — American Guide Series: Arkansas > II. transitive verb (-ed/-ing/-s) 1. : to be or act as the parent of : originate, produce 2. : to provide with a parent or parents : trace the derivation of : show the real or assumed source of III. verb intransitive verb : to bring up and care for a child transitive verb : to bring up and care for |