Parens
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
A parent
This was the original and proper sense of the word. In the civil law, any relative in the direct ascending line, either male or female. PARENS EST NOMEN GENERALE AD omne genus cognationis. Parent is a general name for every kind of relationship.
Co. Litt. 80; Litt. §108; Magna Carta Johan. c. 50.
PARENS PATRIAE (Lat.) Father of his country. In England, the king, in America, the -state, 94 Kan. 115; the people, 3 Bl. Comm. 427; 2 Steph. Comm. 528; 4 Kent, Comm. 508, note; 17 How. (U. S.) 393; Shelf. Ins. 12; 94 Kan. 115, Ann. Cas. 1916E 1024.