progenitor
a biologically related ancestor: a progenitor of the species.
a person or thing that first indicates a direction, originates something, or serves as a model; predecessor; precursor: the progenitor of modern painting.
Origin of progenitor
1Other words from progenitor
- pro·gen·i·to·ri·al [proh-jen-i-tawr-ee-uhl, -tohr-], /proʊˌdʒɛn ɪˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr-/, adjective
- pro·gen·i·tor·ship, noun
Words Nearby progenitor
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use progenitor in a sentence
There is no direct evidence for this, nor any indication that SARS-CoV-2 or a progenitor was being studied at the lab, let alone that someone who worked there was infected.
The lab leak hypothesis — true or not — should teach us a lesson | Umair Irfan | August 27, 2021 | VoxIt was also a recognition that its wild progenitor had been all but destroyed during the preceding century thanks to the invention of the steel plow.
A native plant designer’s memoir reflects on a life in the field | Adrian Higgins | August 25, 2021 | Washington PostReading the researchers’ results, she says, “I got pretty excited, especially about the identification of the progenitor.”
Scientists spotted an electron-capture supernova for the first time | Emily Conover | July 1, 2021 | Science NewsSome of these new kids on the seltzer block are far different than their progenitors.
What’s the best hard seltzer? We tried 18 new flavors to find out. | Emily Heil | May 13, 2021 | Washington PostThe cool, large, yellow progenitor of SN 2019yvr, on the other hand, appeared to be padded with lots of hydrogen.
A rare glimpse of a star before it went supernova defies expectations | Maria Temming | May 5, 2021 | Science News
That extra spin in the progenitor star might have been enough to give the neutron star more magnetic power, making it a magnetar.
So the name is appropriate if this machine is the progenitor of a robot race that will one day go to war.
FYMW is, in some ways, the progenitor of menswear on Tumblr.
Stylistically it is a progenitor of Invisible Man, which Ellison described as “realism that goes beyond and becomes surrealism.”
American Nightmare: Ralph Ellison’s ‘Invisible Man’ at 60 | Nathaniel Rich | June 28, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTHe is a progenitor of what could be called the degenerate school of American fiction.
American Dreams: ‘Tobacco Road’ by Erskine Caldwell | Nathaniel Rich | April 30, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTHe assumed to be a king; but the son of Ocrisia became one in reality, and instituted games in honour of his divine progenitor.
Ancient Faiths And Modern | Thomas InmanThe pure-bred Peruvian horse is more elegantly formed than his Andalusian progenitor.
The natives call this little animal the Cui del Montes, and they believe it to be the progenitor of the tame Guinea pig.
Each day foretells the next, if one could read the signs; to-day is the progenitor of to-morrow.
A Year in the Fields | John BurroughsThose who hold that Adam was the progenitor of the Jews only, and not of the whole human race.
The Thoughts of Blaise Pascal | Blaise Pascal
British Dictionary definitions for progenitor
/ (prəʊˈdʒɛnɪtə) /
a direct ancestor
an originator or founder of a future development; precursor
Origin of progenitor
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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