ancestor
[ an-ses-ter or, esp. British, -suh-ster ]
/ ˈæn sɛs tər or, esp. British, -sə stər /
noun
a person from whom one is descended; forebear; progenitor.
Biology. the actual or hypothetical form or stock from which an organism has developed or descended.
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.
a person who serves as an influence or model for another; one from whom mental, artistic, spiritual, etc., descent is claimed: a philosophical ancestor.
Law. a person from whom an heir derives an inheritance.
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Origin of ancestor
1250–1300; Middle English ancestre < Old French (with t developed between s and r) < Latin antecessor antecessor
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ancestor
ancestor descendantWords nearby ancestor
anbury, anc, anc., ancaeus, ancaster, ancestor, ancestor worship, ancestral, ancestress, ancestry, anch'ing
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for ancestor
British Dictionary definitions for ancestor
ancestor
/ (ˈænsɛstə) /
noun
(often plural) a person from whom another is directly descended, esp someone more distant than a grandparent; forefather
an early type of animal or plant from which a later, usually dissimilar, type has evolved
a person or thing regarded as a forerunner of a later person or thingthe ancestor of the modern camera
Derived forms of ancestor
ancestress, fem nWord Origin for ancestor
C13: from Old French ancestre, from Late Latin antecēssor one who goes before, from Latin antecēdere; see antecede
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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