ancestress

[ an-ses-tris or, especially British, -suh-stris ]

/ ˈæn sɛs trɪs or, especially British, -sə strɪs /

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noun

a woman from whom a person is descended.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of ancestress

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

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

A divine ancestress of the Bantiks, a tribe inhabiting the Celebes Islands, came down from the sky with seven companions to bathe.
The Science of Fairy Tales|Edwin Sidney Hartland
The name of Keturah their ancestress means "incense," and points to the incense-bearing lands of the south.
Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations|Archibald Sayce
She was ancestress of the present Earl of Derby, and founded a perpetual chantry.
The Cathedral Church of Canterbury [2nd ed.].|Hartley Withers
This same ancestress lay buried in Kensington Church, in front of the pulpit.
Recollections of a Long Life|John Stoughton

I say there must needs be this similarity, because the ancestress was Romany.
Theodore Watts-Dunton|James Douglas