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.

---

ancestral British  

/ 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

Etymology

Origin of ancestral

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

Example Sentences

Brick and stone floors with chips and random damage give the viewer the sense of being present in the courtyard of an ancient ancestral house.

From The Wall Street Journal

Each species on Earth can trace its roots back to the same cluster of ancestral organisms and occupies a distinct position on a single, complex, prolifically branching, unfathomably extensive and largely invisible tree of life.

From The Wall Street Journal

The novel explores themes of ancestral sin and atonement against the backdrop of the forests, which stand as silent witnesses to human crimes enacted on a global scale.

From Los Angeles Times

"We will continue to develop, build, and settle the land of our ancestral heritage, with faith in the justice of our path."

From Barron's

Brazil's top court struck down a law on Thursday that limits Indigenous people's rights to their ancestral lands, the latest twist in a long legal battle over native territory.

From Barron's

Related Words

• familial
• tribal