diff --git a/lib/parser.js b/lib/parser.js
index 997f3d32..0ee21aef 100644
--- a/lib/parser.js
+++ b/lib/parser.js
@@ -107,11 +107,6 @@ export const parseSvg = (data, from) => {
    * @type {(node: XastChild) => void}
    */
   const pushToContent = (node) => {
-    // TODO remove legacy parentNode in v4
-    Object.defineProperty(node, 'parentNode', {
-      writable: true,
-      value: current,
-    });
     current.children.push(node);
   };
 
diff --git a/lib/style.js b/lib/style.js
index a30b5628..2e064887 100644
--- a/lib/style.js
+++ b/lib/style.js
@@ -10,15 +10,16 @@ import {
 
 /**
  * @typedef {import('css-tree').Rule} CsstreeRule
+ * @typedef {import('./types.js').ComputedStyles} ComputedStyles
  * @typedef {import('./types.js').Specificity} Specificity
  * @typedef {import('./types.js').Stylesheet} Stylesheet
- * @typedef {import('./types.js').StylesheetRule} StylesheetRule
  * @typedef {import('./types.js').StylesheetDeclaration} StylesheetDeclaration
- * @typedef {import('./types.js').ComputedStyles} ComputedStyles
- * @typedef {import('./types.js').XastRoot} XastRoot
- * @typedef {import('./types.js').XastElement} XastElement
- * @typedef {import('./types.js').XastParent} XastParent
+ * @typedef {import('./types.js').StylesheetRule} StylesheetRule
  * @typedef {import('./types.js').XastChild} XastChild
+ * @typedef {import('./types.js').XastElement} XastElement
+ * @typedef {import('./types.js').XastNode} XastNode
+ * @typedef {import('./types.js').XastParent} XastParent
+ * @typedef {import('./types.js').XastRoot} XastRoot
  */
 
 const csstreeWalkSkip = csstree.walk.skip;
@@ -130,9 +131,10 @@ const parseStyleDeclarations = (css) => {
 /**
  * @param {Stylesheet} stylesheet
  * @param {XastElement} node
+ * @param {Map<XastNode, XastParent>=} parents
  * @returns {ComputedStyles}
  */
-const computeOwnStyle = (stylesheet, node) => {
+const computeOwnStyle = (stylesheet, node, parents = undefined) => {
   /** @type {ComputedStyles} */
   const computedStyle = {};
   const importantStyles = new Map();
@@ -147,7 +149,7 @@ const computeOwnStyle = (stylesheet, node) => {
 
   // collect matching rules
   for (const { selector, declarations, dynamic } of stylesheet.rules) {
-    if (matches(node, selector)) {
+    if (matches(node, selector, parents)) {
       for (const { name, value, important } of declarations) {
         const computed = computedStyle[name];
         if (computed && computed.type === 'dynamic') {
@@ -259,10 +261,10 @@ export const collectStylesheet = (root) => {
  */
 export const computeStyle = (stylesheet, node) => {
   const { parents } = stylesheet;
-  const computedStyles = computeOwnStyle(stylesheet, node);
+  const computedStyles = computeOwnStyle(stylesheet, node, parents);
   let parent = parents.get(node);
   while (parent != null && parent.type !== 'root') {
-    const inheritedStyles = computeOwnStyle(stylesheet, parent);
+    const inheritedStyles = computeOwnStyle(stylesheet, parent, parents);
     for (const [name, computed] of Object.entries(inheritedStyles)) {
       if (
         computedStyles[name] == null &&
diff --git a/lib/style.test.js b/lib/style.test.js
index f904ede2..3629f97d 100644
--- a/lib/style.test.js
+++ b/lib/style.test.js
@@ -11,9 +11,7 @@ import { parseSvg } from './parser.js';
  * @type {(node: XastParent, id: string) => XastElement}
  */
 const getElementById = (node, id) => {
-  /**
-   * @type {?XastElement}
-   */
+  /** @type {?XastElement} */
   let matched = null;
   visit(node, {
     element: {
diff --git a/lib/svgo-node.js b/lib/svgo-node.js
index 6769f771..efe67ab9 100644
--- a/lib/svgo-node.js
+++ b/lib/svgo-node.js
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import {
   VERSION,
   optimize as optimizeAgnostic,
   builtinPlugins,
+  mapNodesToParents,
   querySelector,
   querySelectorAll,
   _collections,
@@ -113,6 +114,7 @@ export default {
   builtinPlugins,
   loadConfig,
   optimize,
+  mapNodesToParents,
   querySelector,
   querySelectorAll,
   _collections,
diff --git a/lib/svgo.d.ts b/lib/svgo.d.ts
index 76395f81..869511ae 100644
--- a/lib/svgo.d.ts
+++ b/lib/svgo.d.ts
@@ -162,4 +162,4 @@ export declare const VERSION: string;
 /** The core of SVGO */
 export declare function optimize(input: string, config?: Config): Output;
 
-export { querySelector, querySelectorAll } from './xast.js';
+export { mapNodesToParents, querySelector, querySelectorAll } from './xast.js';
diff --git a/lib/svgo.js b/lib/svgo.js
index 529fe404..b854e778 100644
--- a/lib/svgo.js
+++ b/lib/svgo.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { builtin } from './builtin.js';
 import { invokePlugins } from './svgo/plugins.js';
 import { encodeSVGDatauri } from './svgo/tools.js';
 import { VERSION } from './version.js';
-import { querySelector, querySelectorAll } from './xast.js';
+import { mapNodesToParents, querySelector, querySelectorAll } from './xast.js';
 import _collections from '../plugins/_collections.js';
 
 /**
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ const resolvePluginConfig = (plugin) => {
 export {
   VERSION,
   builtin as builtinPlugins,
+  mapNodesToParents,
   querySelector,
   querySelectorAll,
   _collections,
@@ -147,6 +148,7 @@ export default {
   VERSION,
   optimize,
   builtinPlugins: builtin,
+  mapNodesToParents,
   querySelector,
   querySelectorAll,
   _collections,
diff --git a/lib/svgo/css-select-adapter.js b/lib/svgo/css-select-adapter.js
index d9e73059..fb15c57d 100644
--- a/lib/svgo/css-select-adapter.js
+++ b/lib/svgo/css-select-adapter.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /**
- * @typedef {Required<import('css-select').Options<XastNode & { children?: any }, XastElement & { parentNode?: any }>>['adapter']} Adapter
+ * @typedef {Required<import('css-select').Options<XastNode & { children?: any }, XastElement>>['adapter']} Adapter
  * @typedef {import('../types.js').XastChild} XastChild
  * @typedef {import('../types.js').XastElement} XastElement
  * @typedef {import('../types.js').XastNode} XastNode
@@ -33,20 +33,6 @@ const getName = (elemAst) => {
   return elemAst.name;
 };
 
-/** @type {Adapter['getParent']} */
-const getParent = (node) => {
-  return node.parentNode || null;
-};
-
-/**
- * @param {any} elem
- * @returns {any}
- */
-const getSiblings = (elem) => {
-  const parent = getParent(elem);
-  return parent ? getChildren(parent) : [];
-};
-
 /** @type {Adapter['getText']} */
 const getText = (node) => {
   if (node.children[0].type === 'text' || node.children[0].type === 'cdata') {
@@ -60,38 +46,6 @@ const hasAttrib = (elem, name) => {
   return elem.attributes[name] !== undefined;
 };
 
-/**
- * @param {any} nodes
- * @returns {any}
- */
-const removeSubsets = (nodes) => {
-  let idx = nodes.length;
-  let node;
-  let ancestor;
-  let replace;
-  // Check if each node (or one of its ancestors) is already contained in the
-  // array.
-  while (--idx > -1) {
-    node = ancestor = nodes[idx];
-    // Temporarily remove the node under consideration
-    nodes[idx] = null;
-    replace = true;
-    while (ancestor) {
-      if (nodes.includes(ancestor)) {
-        replace = false;
-        nodes.splice(idx, 1);
-        break;
-      }
-      ancestor = getParent(ancestor);
-    }
-    // If the node has been found to be unique, re-insert it.
-    if (replace) {
-      nodes[idx] = node;
-    }
-  }
-  return nodes;
-};
-
 /** @type {Adapter['findAll']} */
 const findAll = (test, elems) => {
   const result = [];
@@ -123,19 +77,68 @@ const findOne = (test, elems) => {
 };
 
 /**
- * @type {Adapter}
+ * @param {Map<XastNode, XastParent>} parents
+ * @returns {Adapter}
  */
-export default {
-  isTag,
-  existsOne,
-  getAttributeValue,
-  getChildren,
-  getName,
-  getParent,
-  getSiblings,
-  getText,
-  hasAttrib,
-  removeSubsets,
-  findAll,
-  findOne,
-};
+export function createAdapter(parents) {
+  /** @type {Adapter['getParent']} */
+  const getParent = (node) => {
+    return parents.get(node) || null;
+  };
+
+  /**
+   * @param {any} elem
+   * @returns {any}
+   */
+  const getSiblings = (elem) => {
+    const parent = getParent(elem);
+    return parent ? getChildren(parent) : [];
+  };
+
+  /**
+   * @param {any} nodes
+   * @returns {any}
+   */
+  const removeSubsets = (nodes) => {
+    let idx = nodes.length;
+    let node;
+    let ancestor;
+    let replace;
+    // Check if each node (or one of its ancestors) is already contained in the
+    // array.
+    while (--idx > -1) {
+      node = ancestor = nodes[idx];
+      // Temporarily remove the node under consideration
+      nodes[idx] = null;
+      replace = true;
+      while (ancestor) {
+        if (nodes.includes(ancestor)) {
+          replace = false;
+          nodes.splice(idx, 1);
+          break;
+        }
+        ancestor = getParent(ancestor);
+      }
+      // If the node has been found to be unique, re-insert it.
+      if (replace) {
+        nodes[idx] = node;
+      }
+    }
+    return nodes;
+  };
+
+  return {
+    isTag,
+    existsOne,
+    getAttributeValue,
+    getChildren,
+    getName,
+    getParent,
+    getSiblings,
+    getText,
+    hasAttrib,
+    removeSubsets,
+    findAll,
+    findOne,
+  };
+}
diff --git a/lib/xast.js b/lib/xast.js
index 5f8b4c79..213da728 100644
--- a/lib/xast.js
+++ b/lib/xast.js
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 import { selectAll, selectOne, is } from 'css-select';
-import adapter from './svgo/css-select-adapter.js';
+import { createAdapter } from './svgo/css-select-adapter.js';
 
 /**
- * @typedef {import('css-select').Options<XastNode & { children?: any }, XastElement & { parentNode?: any }>} Options
+ * @typedef {import('css-select').Options<XastNode & { children?: any }, XastElement>} Options
  * @typedef {import('./types.js').XastElement} XastElement
  * @typedef {import('./types.js').XastNode} XastNode
  * @typedef {import('./types.js').XastChild} XastChild
@@ -10,37 +10,81 @@ import adapter from './svgo/css-select-adapter.js';
  * @typedef {import('./types.js').Visitor} Visitor
  */
 
-/** @type {Options} */
-const cssSelectOptions = {
-  xmlMode: true,
-  adapter,
-};
+/**
+ * @param {Map<XastNode, XastParent>} parents
+ * @returns {Options}
+ */
+function createCssSelectOptions(parents) {
+  return {
+    xmlMode: true,
+    adapter: createAdapter(parents),
+  };
+}
 
 /**
- * @param {XastNode} node Element to query the children of.
+ * Maps all nodes to their parent node recursively.
+ *
+ * @param {XastParent} node
+ * @returns {Map<XastNode, XastParent>}
+ */
+export function mapNodesToParents(node) {
+  /** @type {Map<XastNode, XastParent>} */
+  const parents = new Map();
+
+  for (const child of node.children) {
+    parents.set(child, node);
+    visit(
+      child,
+      {
+        element: {
+          enter: (child, parent) => {
+            parents.set(child, parent);
+          },
+        },
+      },
+      node,
+    );
+  }
+
+  return parents;
+}
+
+/**
+ * @param {XastParent} node Element to query the children of.
  * @param {string} selector CSS selector string.
+ * @param {Map<XastNode, XastParent>=} parents
  * @returns {XastChild[]} All matching elements.
  */
-export const querySelectorAll = (node, selector) => {
-  return selectAll(selector, node, cssSelectOptions);
+export const querySelectorAll = (
+  node,
+  selector,
+  parents = mapNodesToParents(node),
+) => {
+  return selectAll(selector, node, createCssSelectOptions(parents));
 };
 
 /**
- * @param {XastNode} node Element to query the children of.
+ * @param {XastParent} node Element to query the children of.
  * @param {string} selector CSS selector string.
+ * @param {Map<XastNode, XastParent>=} parents
  * @returns {?XastChild} First match, or null if there was no match.
  */
-export const querySelector = (node, selector) => {
-  return selectOne(selector, node, cssSelectOptions);
+export const querySelector = (
+  node,
+  selector,
+  parents = mapNodesToParents(node),
+) => {
+  return selectOne(selector, node, createCssSelectOptions(parents));
 };
 
 /**
  * @param {XastElement} node
  * @param {string} selector
+ * @param {Map<XastNode, XastParent>=} parents
  * @returns {boolean}
  */
-export const matches = (node, selector) => {
-  return is(node, selector, cssSelectOptions);
+export const matches = (node, selector, parents = mapNodesToParents(node)) => {
+  return is(node, selector, createCssSelectOptions(parents));
 };
 
 export const visitSkip = Symbol();
@@ -48,7 +92,7 @@ export const visitSkip = Symbol();
 /**
  * @param {XastNode} node
  * @param {Visitor} visitor
- * @param {?any} parentNode
+ * @param {any=} parentNode
  */
 export const visit = (node, visitor, parentNode = undefined) => {
   const callbacks = visitor[node.type];
diff --git a/plugins/collapseGroups.js b/plugins/collapseGroups.js
index fd3fc12d..bacf78b4 100644
--- a/plugins/collapseGroups.js
+++ b/plugins/collapseGroups.js
@@ -129,13 +129,6 @@ export const fn = (root) => {
           // replace current node with all its children
           const index = parentNode.children.indexOf(node);
           parentNode.children.splice(index, 1, ...node.children);
-          // TODO remove legacy parentNode in v4
-          for (const child of node.children) {
-            Object.defineProperty(child, 'parentNode', {
-              writable: true,
-              value: parentNode,
-            });
-          }
         }
       },
     },
diff --git a/plugins/mergeStyles.js b/plugins/mergeStyles.js
index 2b59f3d2..5f7e597b 100644
--- a/plugins/mergeStyles.js
+++ b/plugins/mergeStyles.js
@@ -83,11 +83,6 @@ export const fn = () => {
            * @type {XastChild}
            */
           const child = { type: styleContentType, value: collectedStyles };
-          // TODO remove legacy parentNode in v4
-          Object.defineProperty(child, 'parentNode', {
-            writable: true,
-            value: firstStyleElement,
-          });
           firstStyleElement.children = [child];
         }
       },
diff --git a/plugins/removeScripts.js b/plugins/removeScripts.js
index 6ad972c9..886daf43 100644
--- a/plugins/removeScripts.js
+++ b/plugins/removeScripts.js
@@ -55,14 +55,6 @@ export const fn = () => {
               (child) => child.type !== 'text',
             );
             parentNode.children.splice(index, 1, ...usefulChildren);
-
-            // TODO remove legacy parentNode in v4
-            for (const child of node.children) {
-              Object.defineProperty(child, 'parentNode', {
-                writable: true,
-                value: parentNode,
-              });
-            }
           }
         }
       },
diff --git a/plugins/removeUselessDefs.js b/plugins/removeUselessDefs.js
index 4ae74d12..277e3069 100644
--- a/plugins/removeUselessDefs.js
+++ b/plugins/removeUselessDefs.js
@@ -32,13 +32,6 @@ export const fn = () => {
           if (usefulNodes.length === 0) {
             detachNodeFromParent(node, parentNode);
           }
-          // TODO remove legacy parentNode in v4
-          for (const usefulNode of usefulNodes) {
-            Object.defineProperty(usefulNode, 'parentNode', {
-              writable: true,
-              value: node,
-            });
-          }
           node.children = usefulNodes;
         }
       },
diff --git a/plugins/reusePaths.js b/plugins/reusePaths.js
index 2e5dd958..fdf53fcc 100644
--- a/plugins/reusePaths.js
+++ b/plugins/reusePaths.js
@@ -92,11 +92,6 @@ export const fn = (root) => {
               attributes: {},
               children: [],
             };
-            // TODO remove legacy parentNode in v4
-            Object.defineProperty(defsTag, 'parentNode', {
-              writable: true,
-              value: node,
-            });
           }
 
           let index = 0;
@@ -129,11 +124,6 @@ export const fn = (root) => {
                 reusablePath.attributes.id = originalId;
                 delete list[0].attributes.id;
               }
-              // TODO remove legacy parentNode in v4
-              Object.defineProperty(reusablePath, 'parentNode', {
-                writable: true,
-                value: defsTag,
-              });
               defsTag.children.push(reusablePath);
               // convert paths to <use>
               for (const pathNode of list) {