Definition of ancestor

Email this page to a friend

< -ance

ancestral >

an·ces·tor    (nsstr) KEY 

NOUN:

1. A person from whom one is descended, especially if more remote than a grandparent; a forebear.
2. A forerunner or predecessor.
3. Law The person from whom an estate has been inherited.
4. Biology The actual or hypothetical organism or stock from which later kinds evolved.

---

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English auncestre, from Old French, from Latin antecessor, predecessor, from antecessus, past participle of antecdere, to precede : ante-, ante- + cdere, to go; see ked- in Indo-European roots

SYNONYMS:
ancestor, forebear, forefather, progenitor

These nouns denote a person from whom one is descended: ancestors who were farmers; land once owned by his forebears; laws handed down from our forefathers; our progenitors' wisdom.
Antonym: descendant