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.

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ancestral British  

/ ænˈsɛstrəl /

adjective

1. of, inherited from, or derived from ancestors

   his ancestral home

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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

And even if he believes that "urban Ivorian culture is at its peak" -- given the growing international popularity of Ivorian hip hop -- the activist urged the government to "put our ancestral culture first".

From Barron's

Hemsley has taken a keen interest in the ancestral home, funding and leading a nonprofit that bought and restored the 7,000-square-foot brick house.

From The Wall Street Journal

Later Roman writers dressed up the Punic Wars as an ancestral vendetta of the Barcids, the family to which Hannibal belonged.

From The Wall Street Journal

Now living in the Nioronigué camp, he said that leaving his ancestral land hurt him deeply, but he sees no future back home for his family.

From BBC

"I pray and hope that peace will prevail... that people of all faiths will coexist forever," Biswas, 92, said outside her ancestral home in Abhaynagar, where three generations of her family were born.

From Barron's

Related Words

• familial
• tribal