adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of ancestral
1425–75; late Middle English aunce ( s ) trel < Middle French, equivalent to ancestre ancestor + -el -al 1
Explanation
Ancestral things have been around so long that they once belonged to your ancestors, the family members who lived before your grandparents were born. Your ancestral home is the place your great-grandparents or great-great-uncle once lived. You can also use this adjective to describe things that someone inherited from ancestors, like your friend's ancestral beach cottage or your mom's ancestral set of silverware. Ancestral comes from the Late Latin antecessor, "predecessor," or literally "forgoer," from the root antecedere, "to precede."
Vocabulary lists containing ancestral
"Earthquake"
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for April 2–April 8, 2022
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His thoughts turned to the ancestral home of his people.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
Thousands of families are still hoping to reclaim ancestral land that was taken by the communists after World War II, with some claiming ownership over land allocated to the project.
From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026
Douglas says there is something about the "repetitive beat" and everyone "gathering to release some pent-up energy" which feels like a way to connect to our ancestral roots.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
These uncommon DNA changes can sometimes preserve clues about ancient migration patterns and long-lost ancestral populations.
From Science Daily • May 14, 2026
More than eight million villagers were forcibly removed from their ancestral homes in a Joint US and South Vietnam program.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
