ancestral

[an-ses-truh l]

See more synonyms for ancestral on Thesaurus.com

adjective

pertaining to ancestors; descending or claimed from ancestors: an ancestral home.
serving as a forerunner, prototype, or inspiration.

Origin of ancestral

1425–75; late Middle English aunce(s)trel < Middle French, equivalent to ancestre ancestor + -el -al¹

Related formsan·ces·tral·ly, adverbnon·an·ces·tral, adjectivenon·an·ces·tral·ly, adverbpseu·do·an·ces·tral, adjectivepseu·do·an·ces·tral·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ancestral

Contemporary Examples

The Oklahoma Kiowa have joined this warpath; the Yellowstone is their ancestral homeland.
What It Takes to Kill a Grizzly Bear
Doug Peacock
November 23, 2014
That is to say, the ancestral genes, the ancestral strain of inheritance, appears again in these little children.
Joseph Campbell on the Roots of Halloween
Joseph Campbell
October 31, 2014
There is an ancestral homestead, but it has a meth lab in the barn.
Book Bag: Gritty Stories From the Real Montana
Carrie La Seur
October 2, 2014
The Nevilles' music, inspired by the ancestral rhythms of their city, is mostly pop, funk, and soul.
The Stacks: The Neville Brothers Stake Their Claim as Bards of the Bayou
John Ed Bradley
April 27, 2014
So with ethnicity, for example, it means they were targeted because of an ancestral, cultural, social, or national affiliation.
Hate Crime Victimization Statistics Show Rise in Anti-Hispanic Crime
Abby Haglage
February 20, 2014

Historical Examples

They come from all parts of the world, in an ancestral sense.
Roden's Corner
Henry Seton Merriman
We turn, like loyal disciples of Taine and Sainte-Beuve, to his ancestral stock.
The American Mind
Bliss Perry
"I'll take you up and show you our ancestral hut," declared Bob Martin.
The Innocent Adventuress
Mary Hastings Bradley
Any ancestral quality now lost is lost from the line forever.
The Meaning of Evolution
Samuel Christian Schmucker
Here, after eighteen years, was he again in his ancestral home of Marleigh.
The Tavern Knight
Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for ancestral

ancestral

adjective

of, inherited from, or derived from ancestorshis ancestral home

noun

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

Derived Formsancestrally, adverb

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 ancestral

adj.

1520s, from Old French ancestrel (Anglo-French auncestrel), from ancestre (see ancestor). Related: Ancestrally.

ancestral

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}ancestral

Examples from the Web for ancestral

Contemporary Examples

The Oklahoma Kiowa have joined this warpath; the Yellowstone is their ancestral homeland.

That is to say, the ancestral genes, the ancestral strain of inheritance, appears again in these little children.

There is an ancestral homestead, but it has a meth lab in the barn.

The Nevilles' music, inspired by the ancestral rhythms of their city, is mostly pop, funk, and soul.

So with ethnicity, for example, it means they were targeted because of an ancestral, cultural, social, or national affiliation.

Historical Examples

They come from all parts of the world, in an ancestral sense.

We turn, like loyal disciples of Taine and Sainte-Beuve, to his ancestral stock.

"I'll take you up and show you our ancestral hut," declared Bob Martin.

Any ancestral quality now lost is lost from the line forever.

Here, after eighteen years, was he again in his ancestral home of Marleigh.

ancestral

Word Origin and History for ancestral

adj.

Origin of ancestral