ancestor

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Middle English ancestre, auncestre, ancessour; the first forms from Old French ancestre (modern French ancêtre), from the Latin nominative antecessor one who goes before; the last form from Old French ancessor, from Latin accusative antecessorem, from antecedo (“to go before”); ante (“before”) + cedo (“to go”). See cede, and compare with antecessor.

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA: /ˈæn.sɛs.tɚ/, /ˈæn.sɛs.toɹ/

Noun

ancestor (plural ancestors)

  1. One from whom a person is descended, whether on the father's or mother's side, at any distance of time; a progenitor; a forefather.
  2. An earlier type; a progenitor
    This fossil animal is regarded as the ancestor of the horse.
  3. (law) One from whom an estate has descended;—the correlative of heir.
  4. (figuratively) One who had the same role or function in former times.
    • 2011 October 1, Saj Chowdhury, “Wolverhampton 1 - 2 Newcastle”, BBC Sport:
      The Magpies are unbeaten and enjoying their best run since 1994, although few would have thought the class of 2011 would come close to emulating their ancestors.

Usage notes

Derived terms

Translations

one from whom a person is descended
an earlier type

Antonyms

Anagrams

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Last modified on 19 May 2013, at 18:02