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ancestor
[ an-ses-ter or, especially British, -suh-ster ]
/ ˈæn sɛs tər or, especially British, -sə stər /
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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 antecessorantecessor
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ancestor
ancestor , descendantWords nearby ancestor
anbury, ANC, Ancaeus, Ancaster, -ance, ancestor, ancestor worship, ancestral, ancestress, ancestry, Anchises
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use ancestor in a sentence
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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