Etymology

parens patriae

Today it means: The government authority to act as the parent of a child or individual to protect them from abusive or negligent parents, legal guardian, or caretaker. Full definition →

Latin parēns patriae
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The story

  1. Latin · borrowed fromparēns patriae“parent of the country”
  2. English todayparens patriae

From Latin parēns patriae (“parent of the country”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.