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

Both 72, they call the event Los Tradicionales — “the traditional ones” — because their goal is to help preserve Cuba’s rich dance heritage, from rumba to timba to casino, an ancestor of salsa.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

Lord Courtenay entered the upper chamber in 2018 after inheriting his late father's title, which was first given to a distant ancestor in 1142, almost 900 years ago.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

It is true that he is the first member of the royal family to be arrested since his ancestor King Charles I was tried and executed at Westminster in 1649.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

The museum called the find of the elephant relative and the ancestor of today's slow-moving tree-dwellers with long, curved claws "one of the most relevant" in Costa Rica in decades.

From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026

My ancestor helped Vladimir create the spell you conjured to save yourself the other day.

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

Related Words

• forebear
• forefather
• founder