ancestor

American  

[an-ses-ter, -suh-ster] / ˈæn sɛs tər, -sə stər /

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.

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ancestor British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• ancestress
  noun

Etymology

Origin of ancestor

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

Explanation

An ancestor came before. Your grandmother's grandmother and any relative before her is one of your ancestors. Ante-, a common Latin prefix, means "before." Cedere is Latin for "to go." So, an ancestor is someone who has gone before us. Evolutionary biologists have advanced the theory that all life on earth descends from a common ancestor. Ancestor can also mean "prototype" or "forerunner." The abacus is a distant ancestor of today's supercomputers.

Example Sentences

Ancestor worship is also common during this time.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 8, 2024

The permit for the fourth bar, which would be located in Ancestor Square, was submitted to the city as an “upscale lounge” with an enforced dress code.

From Washington Times • Nov. 13, 2020

It is known as Luca, the Last Universal Common Ancestor, and is estimated to have lived some four billion years ago, when Earth was a mere 560 million years old.

From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2016

More About a New Human Ancestor In any case there was only one way to get the analysis done quickly: Put a lot of eyes on the bones.

From National Geographic • Sep. 10, 2015

Frank gave them the five-second version: “Periclymenus. Ancestor on my mom’s side. Argonaut. Grandson of Poseidon.”

From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• forebear
• forefather
• founder