parent

1. One who begets, or brings forth, offspring; a father or a mother.
2. That which produces; cause; source; author; begetter; as, idleness is the parent of vice.
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.