ancestor

[an-ses-ter, -suh-ster]

noun

1. a person from whom one is descended; forebear; progenitor.

2. Biology.,  the actual or hypothetical form or stock from which an organism has developed or descended.

3. an object, idea, style, or occurrence serving as a prototype, forerunner, or inspiration to a later one.

   The balloon is an ancestor of the modern dirigible.

4. a person who serves as an influence or model for another; one from whom mental, artistic, spiritual, etc., descent is claimed.

   a philosophical ancestor.

5. Law.,  a person from whom an heir derives an inheritance.

ancestor

/ ˈænsɛstə /

noun

1. (often plural) a person from whom another is directly descended, esp someone more distant than a grandparent; forefather

2. an early type of animal or plant from which a later, usually dissimilar, type has evolved

3. a person or thing regarded as a forerunner of a later person or thing

   the ancestor of the modern camera

Other Word Forms

• ancestress noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ancestor¹

1250–1300; Middle English ancestre < Old French (with t developed between s and r ) < Latin antecessor antecessor

Word History and Origins

Origin of ancestor¹

C13: from Old French ancestre, from Late Latin antecēssor one who goes before, from Latin antecēdere; see _antecede

Example Sentences

The Heritage American movement maintains that those Americans whose ancestors have been here for generations are more deserving of this nation’s riches than those of us whose families came over within living memory.

From Los Angeles Times

"We want to understand our ancestry and the migration routes of our ancestors," says professor G Kumaresan, who heads the genetics department at the university.

From BBC

They deserve justice and the freedom to envision a better future for their ancestors’ homeland.

From Los Angeles Times

"It was about stepping into your discomfort... stepping into your courage and into your gifts and what you've inherited from your ancestors," he reflected later.

From BBC

“To be able to connect to a land that our ancestors walked is very powerful,” said Johnson.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• forebear 
• forefather 
• founder