ancestor

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Etymology

From Middle English ancestre, auncestre, ancessour; the first forms from Old French ancestre (modern French ancêtre), from the Latin - nominative antecessor ("one who goes before"); the last form from Old French ancessor, from Latin antecessōrem, accusative of antecessor, from antecēdō + -tor, from ante- + cēdō.

Pronunciation

• (America) IPA: /ˈæn.sɛs.tɚ/
• (RP) IPA: /ˈæn.sɛs.tə/

Noun

ancestor (plural ancestors)

1. One from whom a person is descended, whether on the father's or mother's side, at any distance of time; a progenitor; a forefather.
2. An earlier type; a progenitor

   This fossil animal is regarded as the ancestor of the horse.

3. (legal) One from whom an estate has descended;—the correlative of heir.
4. (figuratively) One who had the same role or function in former times.
5. (linguistics) A word or phrase which serves as the origin of a term in another language.

Synonyms

• (person from whom one is descended) forebear, fore-elder, forefather
• (previous fulfiller of a role or duty) predecessor
• (originating word) reflex, source, origin

Antonyms

• descendant
• afterbear

Translations

• French: ancêtre
• German: Vorfahr, Vorfahrin, Ahn, Ahne, Ahne, Ahnin, Urahn, Urahne, Urahne, Stammvater, Stammmutter, Familiengründer
• Italian: antenato, ascendente, avo, abiatico, progenitore
• Portuguese: ancestral, antepassado
• Russian: пре́док
• Spanish: ancestro, antepasado

Translations

• German: Vorläufer, Vorgänger
• Portuguese: ancestral
• Russian: предше́ственник

Verb

ancestor (ancestors, present participle ancestoring; simple past and past participle ancestored)

1. (transitive) To be an ancestor of.

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