Elter

== German == === Etymology === Back-formation from Eltern. Cognate with English elder. === Pronunciation === Homophone: älter === Noun === Elter m or n (mixed, genitive Elters, plural Eltern) (biology, otherwise nonstandard) singular of Eltern; a parent of unspecified sex. ==== Usage notes ==== Elter is not widely used outside the field of genetics; in other contexts, Elternteil is more common. In colloquial speech, either the sex of the parent needs to be specified (Mutter, Vater), or a circumlocution such as Mutter oder Vater ("mother or father") or Elternteil (literally “parents-part”) is used. ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === “Elter” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache “Elter” in Duden online “Elter” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon