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ancestress

American  
[an-ses-tris, -suh-stris] / ˈæn sɛs trɪs, -sə strɪs /

noun

  1. a woman from whom a person is descended.


Gender

What's the difference between ancestress and ancestor? See -ess.

Etymology

Origin of ancestress

First recorded in 1570–80; ancest(o)r + -ess

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When the theft was discovered His Grace posted a reward of $10,000 for the capture of the thief, the return of his ancestress.

From Time Magazine Archive

He had taken to wife the Princess Charlotte of Oldenburg, petite and ravishing as her famed ancestress Queen Louise of Prussia.*

From Time Magazine Archive

Alone, save for two attendants, he appeared, once before midnight and once after, at the shrine of his ancestress the Sun Goddess and offered her a sacrifice of holy rice.

From Time Magazine Archive

A jewel box of a biography of the incomparable Sarah Churchill, wife to the hero of Blenheim, ancestress of Sir Winston.

From Time Magazine Archive

I had an ancestress with a long gray tail and eyes as beady as mine, and her name was Katinka Van Tassel.

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

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