ancestor

American  

[an-ses-ter, -suh-ster] / ˈæn sɛs tər, -sə stər /

noun

1. a person from whom one is descended; forebear; progenitor.

2. Biology. the actual or hypothetical form or stock from which an organism has developed or descended.

3. an object, idea, style, or occurrence serving as a prototype, forerunner, or inspiration to a later one.

   The balloon is an ancestor of the modern dirigible.

4. a person who serves as an influence or model for another; one from whom mental, artistic, spiritual, etc., descent is claimed.

   a philosophical ancestor.

5. Law. a person from whom an heir derives an inheritance.

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ancestor British  

/ ˈænsɛstə /

noun

1. (often plural) a person from whom another is directly descended, esp someone more distant than a grandparent; forefather

2. an early type of animal or plant from which a later, usually dissimilar, type has evolved

3. a person or thing regarded as a forerunner of a later person or thing

   the ancestor of the modern camera

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Other Word Forms

• ancestress noun

Etymology

Origin of ancestor

1250–1300; Middle English ancestre < Old French (with t developed between s and r ) < Latin antecessor antecessor

Example Sentences

Wearing Celtic clothing and elaborate, nature-inspired headdresses, druids and pagans danced around the Neolithic stone circle in Wiltshire thought to have been built by distant ancestors to align with the movements of the Sun.

From BBC

“Those individuals feel threatened. What do you think our ancestors felt?”

From The Wall Street Journal

Quiwa's ancestors built their first piece for the inaugural 1908 festival -- which has continued to this day and was only interrupted by war and the pandemic.

From Barron's

They are basking in the sun with their ancestors and it’s purity, it’s love, it’s freedom.

From Los Angeles Times

River dolphins live entirely in freshwater even though their ancestors were marine.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• forebear
• forefather
• founder