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primogenitor

[prahy-muh-jen-i-ter]
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noun
  1. a first parent or earliest ancestor: Adam and Eve are the primogenitors of the human race.
  2. a forefather or ancestor.
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Origin of primogenitor

1645–55; < Late Latin prīmōgenitor ancestor, equivalent to Latin prīmō at first + genitor genitor
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for primogenitor

primogenitor

noun
  1. a forefather; ancestor
  2. an earliest parent or ancestor, as of a race
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Word Origin

C17: alteration of progenitor after primogeniture
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 primogenitor

n.

"an ancestor," late 15c., from Medieval Latin primogenitor, from Latin primo (adv.) "first in order of time; at first," from primus "first" (see prime (adj.)) + genitor "father," from genitus, past participle of gignere "to beget" (see genus). Related: Primogenital; primogenitary. The fem. form is primogenitrix (1875). The rights of a second son are secundogeniture.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper