Standard Lemma guide

parenthood

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • CMU ARPABET: P EH1 R AH0 N T HH UH2 D Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The state of being a parent

Definition sources: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract · Princeton WordNet 3.0

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • to everyone's surprise, parenthood reformed the man

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: parentage

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: adulthood

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English parent Proto-Indo-European *keyt-der. Proto-Germanic *haiduzder. Proto-West Germanic *-haiduder. Old English -hād Middle English -hede English -hood English parenthood From parent + -hood.

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: ouerskap — state of being parent
  • Czech: rodičovství — state of being parent
  • Dutch: ouderschap — state of being parent
  • Finnish: vanhemmuus — state of being parent
  • French: parentalité — state of being parent
  • German: Elternschaft — state of being parent
  • Macedonian: родителство (roditelstvo) — state of being parent
  • Polish: rodzicielstwo — state of being parent
  • Russian: отцо́вство (otcóvstvo) — state of being parent
  • Russian: матери́нство (materínstvo) — state of being parent
  • Spanish: parentalidad — state of being parent
  • Swedish: föräldraskap — state of being parent
  • Turkish: ebeveynlik — state of being parent
  • Ukrainian: батькі́вство (batʹkívstvo) — state of being parent