What does "parent" mean?

Parent: 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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