Ancestor

Quick meaning: Ancestor is a noun meaning An earlier type; a progenitor.

Meaning

An earlier type; a progenitor.

More Meanings

1. (law) One from whom an estate has descended;—the correlative of heir.
2. (figuratively) One who had the same role or function in former times.
3. (linguistics) A word or phrase which serves as the origin of a term in another language.
4. (transitive) To be an ancestor of.
5. 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; a forebear.

Example Sentences

This fossil animal is regarded as the ancestor of the horse.

Some of the descendants of this cyclopean ancestor left their burrows and started to swim.

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.

How, that is, could ancestoring Elizabeth become a relational property of James's, when there was, when Elizabeth began to exist, no James to have this property?

Word Forms

• ancestors
• ancestour
• ancestoring
• ancestored

Synonyms for ancestor

Depending on context, synonyms include fore-elder, predecessor, reflex, source, origin, antecedent.

Antonyms for ancestor

Common opposites include descendant, afterbear, descendent.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include antecedent, ascendent, ascendant, progenitor, ancestry, ancestral.

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