ancestor

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   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.

   Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless.

2. 2
   noun

   An earlier type; a progenitor.

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

3. 3
   noun

   One who had the same role or function in former times.

   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.

4. 4
   verb

   To be an ancestor of.

   Her own grandfather had been a Virginian, a descendant of Pocahontas, of course, Pocahontas having been created by Divine Providence for the specific purpose of ancestoring Virginians.

5. 5
   noun

   someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)

6. 6
   noun

   One from whom an estate has descended;—the correlative of heir.

7. 7
   noun

   A word or phrase which serves as the origin of a term in another language.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti Proto-Italic *anti Latin ante Latin ante- Proto-Italic *kezdō Latin cedo Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Latin antecessor Anglo-Norman auncestrebor. Middle English auncestre English ancestor From 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 anteces…