ancestral

American  

[an-ses-truhl] / ænˈsɛs trəl /

adjective

1. pertaining to ancestors; descending or claimed from ancestors.

   an ancestral home.

2. serving as a forerunner, prototype, or inspiration.

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ancestral British  

/ ænˈsɛstrəl /

adjective

1. of, inherited from, or derived from ancestors

   his ancestral home

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noun

1. logic a relation that holds between x and y if there is a chain of instances of a given relation leading from x to y. Thus the ancestral of parent of is ancestor of, since x is the ancestor of y if and only if x is a parent of…a parent of…a parent of y

Other Word Forms

• ancestrally adverb
• nonancestral adjective
• nonancestrally adverb
• pseudoancestral adjective
• pseudoancestrally adverb

Etymology

Origin of ancestral

1425–75; late Middle English aunce ( s ) trel < Middle French, equivalent to ancestre ancestor + -el -al ¹

Example Sentences

Leo is seeking to make these communities feel less isolated and to encourage them to remain in their ancestral lands.

From The Wall Street Journal

Although many living species share flexible skulls and other advanced traits, only the tuatara still retains a complete lower temporal bar, giving it a more ancestral appearance.

From Science Daily

It sounds like a marketing pitch and the company's slick packaging promises "ancestral ingredients" and the "power of purple fruits from the forest".

From BBC

Indigenous residents protest the potential desecration of their ancestral land.

From The Wall Street Journal

For the first time in centuries, a piece of ancestral territory belongs to the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• familial
• tribal