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definitions

ancestor

[ an-ses-ter or, esp. British, -suh-ster ]
/ ˈæn sɛs tər or, esp. 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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RELATED WORDS

forebear, founder, forefather, antecedent, ascendant, precursor, forerunner, progenitor, foremother, primogenitor, antecessor

Nearby words

anbury, anc, anc., ancaeus, ancaster, ancestor, ancestor worship, ancestral, ancestress, ancestry, anch'ing

Origin of ancestor

1250–1300; Middle English ancestre < Old French (with t developed between s and r) < Latin antecessor antecessor
Can be confusedancestor descendant
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples 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 Formsancestress, fem n

Word 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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ancestor

ancestor

n.

c.1300, ancestre, antecessour, from Old French ancestre (12c., Modern French ancêtre), from Late Latin antecessor "predecessor," literally "foregoer," agent noun from past participle stem of Latin antecedere "to precede," from ante- "before" (see ante) + cedere "to go" (see cede). Current form from early 15c. Feminine form ancestress recorded from 1570s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper