Definition of ancestor


Reference
Dictionary
Encyclopedia
Thesaurus
World Factbook
Spanish Dictionary
Anatomy
Conversion Calculator

Word of the Day
perfunctory
Definition: (adjective) unenthusiastic, routine, or mechanical.
Petersons.com
Add Word of the Day to your personalized My Yahoo! page:
Add to My Yahoo! View RSS Feed
About My Yahoo! and RSS »
 
Search Dictionary:



an·ces·tor  audio  (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


Visit our partner's site
Provided by Houghton Mifflin
logoeReference -- Download this interactive reference software to your desktop computer