forebear

[ fawr-bair, fohr- ]

noun

1. Usually forebears. ancestors; forefathers.

forebear

/ ˈfɔːˌbɛə /

noun

1. an ancestor; forefather

Word History and Origins

Origin of forebear¹

1425–75; Middle English (Scots), equivalent to fore- fore- + -bear “being,” variant of beer; be, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Spain rebuffed the president’s demands, with government officials telling journalists that the nation’s current leaders should not be held responsible for the actions of their forebears.

From Los Angeles Times

Gender, the color of our skin, or the countries our forebears came from have nothing to do with it.

From Salon

"Our forebears recognized the lack of a suitable beach and found the perfect solution by building our magnificent Victorian pier at Garth Point, which now attracts over 80,000 visitors a year," its statement added.

From BBC

Named for its Star Trek forebear, Holodeck generates a virtually limitless range of indoor environments, using AI to interpret users' requests.

From Science Daily

At the moment, none of the new hominins is convincing as a direct forebear of Homo.

From Science Magazine

Related Words

• forefather