ancestor
Americannoun
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a person from whom one is descended; forebear; progenitor.
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Biology. the actual or hypothetical form or stock from which an organism has developed or descended.
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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.
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a person who serves as an influence or model for another; one from whom mental, artistic, spiritual, etc., descent is claimed.
a philosophical ancestor.
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Law. a person from whom an heir derives an inheritance.
noun
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(often plural) a person from whom another is directly descended, esp someone more distant than a grandparent; forefather
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an early type of animal or plant from which a later, usually dissimilar, type has evolved
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a person or thing regarded as a forerunner of a later person or thing
the ancestor of the modern camera
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s a hilarious take on bonding with ancestors, in this case in an intergalactic bathhouse where Zaalan’s Syrian ancestors must field obnoxious first world questions from millennial descendants.
From Los Angeles Times
In this single lake, more than 800 species have emerged from a shared ancestor in far less time than it took humans and chimpanzees to diverge.
From Science Daily
When we were in need, the ancestors called us here.
From Literature
The discovery suggests that the closest ancestors of modern apes may have originated in northern Africa, rather than in East Africa, which has long been the main focus of fossil research.
From Science Daily
One of the main arguments is that those alive today should not be held liable for the crimes of their ancestors.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
