Etymograph

English

parent

Parent comes from Anglo-Norman parent, from Latin parēns ‘parent’, an old participle, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- ‘to produce, beget’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perh₃-1‘to produce, beget’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pérh₃-t ~ *pr̥h₃-ént1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*par-(e)nt-1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparēns1‘parent’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparentem1accusative of parēns
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400parent1
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500parent1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611parent1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English parent
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “my trust / Like a good parent, did beget…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*perh₃-Wiktionary, English parent‘to produce, beget’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pérh₃-t ~ *pr̥h₃-éntWiktionary, English parentreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*par-(e)nt-Wiktionary, English parentreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparēnsWiktionary, English parent‘parent’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparentemWiktionary, English parentaccusative of parēns
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400parentWiktionary, English parent
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500parentWiktionary, English parent
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611parentWiktionary, English parent. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “my trust / Like a good parent, did beget…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with parent, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Latin pariō ‘to breed, bring forth’

10 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 onceI have a code

Explore everything descended from *perh₃- →

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

noun A person who raises a child (which they have made, adopted, fostered, taken as their own, etc.).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “parent”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *perh₃- / parent