ancestor

[ an-ses-teror, especially British, -suh-ster ]

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.

ancestor

/ 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

Derived Forms

• ˈancestress, noun:feminine

Word History and Origins

Origin of ancestor¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of ancestor¹

C13: from Old French ancestre, from Late Latin antecēssor one who goes before, from Latin antecēdere; see antecede

Example Sentences

By the beginning of the Cambrian explosion of multicellular organisms about 540 million years ago, the ancestors of today’s ecdysozoans were already alive and varied in form and behavior, suggesting they arose even earlier.

From Science Magazine

"When our ancestors brought these peaches up from the South you think about how devastating it was, to lose loved ones, and not know if the seeds will sprout," he said.

From Salon

Although the species was probably not the common ancestor to all ecdysozoans, the authors note, the discovery contributes a significant addition to our understanding of the diversity of life before the so-called Cambrian explosion.

From Science Magazine

Most Nagas now follow Christianity, but their ancestors were animists who followed different birth and death rituals.

From BBC

It’s that feeling of studying a photo of an ancestor, marveling at their outfit, trying to decipher who they were through each stylistic detail.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• forebear
• forefather
• founder