par·ent n.
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.
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