ancestral

[an-ses-truhl]

adjective

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

   an ancestral home.

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

ancestral

/ ænˈsɛstrəl /

adjective

1. of, inherited from, or derived from ancestors

   his ancestral home

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of ancestral¹

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

Example Sentences

"It's an ancestral diet," Nat says, "which is what we survived off - it's primal."

From BBC

The group claimed ancestral rights to land and insisted that the Kingdom of Kubala had been born.

From BBC

A former US filmmaker has launched a High Court battle against an English council to gain control of the ancestral stately home he spent seven years trying to save from ruin.

From BBC

In Asian culture, there are lots of shrines in homes, ancestral shrines with pictures of grandmas and candles.

From Los Angeles Times

He pauses: “It was ancestral spirits, whatever you want to call it,” adding with a mischievous cackle, “But not voodoo!”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• familial 
• tribal