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// Getting all matches up the tree #
// In jQuery, .parents() climbs the DOM tree and returns all parent elements. If you include a selector, it will only return those that match. Here’s the vanilla JavaScript equivalent:

/**
 * Get all of an element's parent elements up the DOM tree
 * @param  {Node}   elem     The element
 * @param  {String} selector Selector to match against [optional]
 * @return {Array}           The parent elements
 */
var getParents = function ( elem, selector ) {

    // Element.matches() polyfill
    if (!Element.prototype.matches) {
        Element.prototype.matches =
            Element.prototype.matchesSelector ||
            Element.prototype.mozMatchesSelector ||
            Element.prototype.msMatchesSelector ||
            Element.prototype.oMatchesSelector ||
            Element.prototype.webkitMatchesSelector ||
            function(s) {
                var matches = (this.document || this.ownerDocument).querySelectorAll(s),
                    i = matches.length;
                while (--i >= 0 && matches.item(i) !== this) {}
                return i > -1;
            };
    }

    // Setup parents array
    var parents = [];

    // Get matching parent elements
    for ( ; elem && elem !== document; elem = elem.parentNode ) {

        // Add matching parents to array
        if ( selector ) {
            if ( elem.matches( selector ) ) {
                parents.push( elem );
            }
        } else {
            parents.push( elem );
        }

    }

    return parents;

};

// And to use it:

var elem = document.querySelector('#some-element');
var parents = getParents(elem, '.some-class');
var allParents = getParents(elem.parentNode);

// Getting all matches up the tree until a matching parent is found #
// In jQuery, .parentsUntil() climbs the DOM tree and returns all parent elements until a matching parent is found. If you include a selector, it will only return those that match. Here’s the vanilla JavaScript equivalent:

/**
 * Get all of an element's parent elements up the DOM tree until a matching parent is found
 * @param  {Node}   elem     The element
 * @param  {String} parent   The selector for the parent to stop at
 * @param  {String} selector The selector to filter against [optionals]
 * @return {Array}           The parent elements
 */
var getParentsUntil = function ( elem, parent, selector ) {

    // Element.matches() polyfill
    if (!Element.prototype.matches) {
        Element.prototype.matches =
            Element.prototype.matchesSelector ||
            Element.prototype.mozMatchesSelector ||
            Element.prototype.msMatchesSelector ||
            Element.prototype.oMatchesSelector ||
            Element.prototype.webkitMatchesSelector ||
            function(s) {
                var matches = (this.document || this.ownerDocument).querySelectorAll(s),
                    i = matches.length;
                while (--i >= 0 && matches.item(i) !== this) {}
                return i > -1;
            };
    }

    // Setup parents array
    var parents = [];

    // Get matching parent elements
    for ( ; elem && elem !== document; elem = elem.parentNode ) {

        if ( parent ) {
            if ( elem.matches( parent ) ) break;
        }

        if ( selector ) {
            if ( elem.matches( selector ) ) {
                parents.push( elem );
            }
            break;
        }

        parents.push( elem );

    }

    return parents;

};
And to use it:

var elem = document.querySelector('#some-element');
var parentsUntil = getParentsUntil(elem, '.some-class');
var parentsUntilByFilter = getParentsUntil(elem, '.some-class', '[data-something]');
var allParentsUntil = getParentsUntil(elem);
var allParentsExcludingElem = getParentsUntil(elem.parentNode);

/**
 * Get the closest matching element up the DOM tree.
 * @private
 * @param  {Element} elem     Starting element
 * @param  {String}  selector Selector to match against
 * @return {Boolean|Element}  Returns null if not match found
 */
var getClosest = function ( elem, selector ) {

    // Element.matches() polyfill
    if (!Element.prototype.matches) {
        Element.prototype.matches =
            Element.prototype.matchesSelector ||
            Element.prototype.mozMatchesSelector ||
            Element.prototype.msMatchesSelector ||
            Element.prototype.oMatchesSelector ||
            Element.prototype.webkitMatchesSelector ||
            function(s) {
                var matches = (this.document || this.ownerDocument).querySelectorAll(s),
                    i = matches.length;
                while (--i >= 0 && matches.item(i) !== this) {}
                return i > -1;
            };
    }

    // Get closest match
    for ( ; elem && elem !== document; elem = elem.parentNode ) {
        if ( elem.matches( selector ) ) return elem;
    }

    return null;

};

// Usage:
var elem = document.querySelector('#example');
var closestElem = getClosest(elem, '.sample-class');


// If you wanted to start with the element’s parent instead of 
// the element itself (equivalent to the .parent() method), you would do this:
var elem = document.querySelector('#example');
var closestElem = getClosest(elem.parentNode, '#sample-id');