ancestor en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈæn.sɛs.tɚ/ (General-American)
- (US) audio
- /ˈæn.sɛs.tə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
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- 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 antecessōrem, accusative of antecessor, from antecēdō (“to go before”) + -tor (“-er”), from ante- (“before”) + cēdō (“to go”). See cede, and compare with antecessor.
Meanings
-
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.
2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845, archived from the original on 08 Mar 2023:
-
An earlier type; a progenitor.
Some of the descendants of this cyclopean ancestor left their burrows and started to swim.
2026 February 23, Carl Zimmer, “The Rise of Eyes Began With Just One. Even Charles Darwin was puzzled by the evolution of the vertebrate eye. New research suggests that it traces back to a cyclopean invertebrate with a single eye atop the head”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 24 Feb 2026:This fossil animal is regarded as the ancestor of the horse.
- One from whom an estate has descended;—the correlative of heir.
-
(figuratively) 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.
2011 October 1, Saj Chowdhury, “Wolverhampton 1-2 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 17 Jul 2024:
- A word or phrase which serves as the origin of a term in another language.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ancestour | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| ancestors | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| auncestour | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| auncestor | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
apical ancestor · ancestorhood · ancestorship · ancestry · ancestorial · cenancestor · ancestor spirit · proto-ancestor · ur-ancestor · ancestorism · ancestrula · grandcestor · protoancestor · ancestor worship · trancestor · common ancestor · last universal ancestor · grandancestor · last universal common ancestor
Holonyms
Hypernyms
Hyponyms
grandfather · grandparent · great-great-grandmother · great-grandmother · parent · great-great-grandfather · mother · father · grandmother · great-grandfather · great-grandparent · great-great-grandparent
Synonyms
predecessor (previous fulfiller of a role or duty) · progenitor · ancestor · fore-elder (person from whom one is descended) · ascendent · origin (originating word) · ascendant · antecedent · forefather (person from whom one is descended) · forerunner · reflex (originating word) · forebear (person from whom one is descended) · source (originating word)
Translations (203)
tr ata (one from whom a person is descended) · la ava (one from whom a person is descended) · lv sencis (one from whom a person is descended) · mi kauwheke (one from whom a person is descended) · nn forfar (an earlier type) · de Ahne (one from whom a person is descended) · de Stammmutter (one from whom a person is descended) · de Urahn (one from whom a person is descended) · hu előd (one from whom a person is descended) · gd sinnsear (one from whom a person is descended) · de Vorgänger (an earlier type) · hi पूर्ववर्ती (an earlier type) · mi tīpuna (one from whom a person is descended) · ang ieldra (one from whom a person is descended) · de Ahn (one from whom a person is descended) · it ascendente (one from whom a person is descended) · vo hibüröletan (one from whom a person is descended) · kw hendas (one from whom a person is descended) · sl prédnik (an earlier type) · pt ancestral (one from whom a person is descended) · gl devanceiro (one from whom a person is descended) · mos yaaba (one from whom a person is descended) · ru предше́ственник (an earlier type) · otk 𐰯𐰀 (one from whom a person is descended) · de Ahnin (one from whom a person is descended) · wyi liwik (one from whom a person is descended) · mk предок (one from whom a person is descended) · fi esivanhempi (one from whom a person is descended) · id moyang (one from whom a person is descended) · hu felmenő (one from whom a person is descended) · de Urahne (one from whom a person is descended) · ca antecessor (one from whom a person is descended) · oc ancessor (one from whom a person is descended) · be про́дак (one from whom a person is descended) · cdo 祖先 (one from whom a person is descended) · pl antenatka (one from whom a person is descended) · ba ата-баба (one from whom a person is descended) · tum sekuru (one from whom a person is descended) · ms leluhur (one from whom a person is descended) · sh предак (one from whom a person is descended) · nb forfader (one from whom a person is descended) · af voorouer (one from whom a person is descended) · sv förfader (one from whom a person is descended) · nn forfader (an earlier type) · ar سَلَف (one from whom a person is descended) · la progenitrix (one from whom a person is descended) · la progenitrix (an earlier type) · fi esi-isä (an earlier type) · hu ős (one from whom a person is descended) · fr ancêtre (one from whom a person is descended) · mi heinga (one from whom a person is descended) · ro strămoș (one from whom a person is descended) · cy cyndad (one from whom a person is descended) · uk пра́щурка (one from whom a person is descended) · da stamfader (one from whom a person is descended) · ko 원형 (an earlier type) · es ancestro (one from whom a person is descended) · ro străbun (one from whom a person is descended) · cy cyndadau (one from whom a person is descended) · nn forfader (one from whom a person is descended) · ckb با و باپیر (one from whom a person is descended) · id leluhur (one from whom a person is descended) · srn awo (one from whom a person is descended) · uk пре́док (one from whom a person is descended) · hy նախահայր (one from whom a person is descended) · su karuhun (one from whom a person is descended) · mi tūpuna (one from whom a person is descended) · bg предше́ственик (an earlier type) · ja 先祖 (one from whom a person is descended) · hu előd (an earlier type) · la avus (one from whom a person is descended) · ro predecesor (one from whom a person is descended) · ko 선조 (one from whom a person is descended) · yi אָבֿ (one from whom a person is descended) · sh праотац (one from whom a person is descended) · lv sence (one from whom a person is descended) · de Vorfahrin (one from whom a person is descended) · el προπάτορας (one from whom a person is descended) · ka წინაპარი (one from whom a person is descended) · sh pramajka (one from whom a person is descended) · az əcdad (one from whom a person is descended) · mi kohika (one from whom a person is descended) · ccc ka'nil sheye (one from whom a person is descended) · sh praotac (one from whom a person is descended) · sh предкиња (one from whom a person is descended) · ja 祖先 (an earlier type) · ca avantpassat (one from whom a person is descended) · got 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌹𐌶𐌰 (one from whom a person is descended) · srn fofo (one from whom a person is descended) · de Ahne (one from whom a person is descended) · nan 祖先 (one from whom a person is descended) · pt antepassado (one from whom a person is descended) · tpi tambaran (one from whom a person is descended) · it abiatico (one from whom a person is descended) · gl antergo (one from whom a person is descended) · pl wstępny (one from whom a person is descended) · pl antenat (one from whom a person is descended) · pt ancestral (an earlier type) · ga sinsear (an earlier type) · srn afo (one from whom a person is descended) · uk пра́щур (one from whom a person is descended) · et esivanem (one from whom a person is descended) · gl antecesor (one from whom a person is descended) · ko 전신 (an earlier type) · io ancestro (one from whom a person is descended) · srn granawo (one from whom a person is descended) · eo praulo (one from whom a person is descended) · yue 祖先 (one from whom a person is descended) · br gourdad (one from whom a person is descended) · mr पूर्वज (one from whom a person is descended) · sh претка (one from whom a person is descended) · gur yaaba (one from whom a person is descended) · cy hynafiad (one from whom a person is descended) · sh прародитељ (one from whom a person is descended) · mi whātua (one from whom a person is descended) · bg праоте́ц (one from whom a person is descended) · lo ບັນພະບູລຸດ (one from whom a person is descended) · ja 語源 (a word of origin) · ru пре́док (an earlier type) · sl prédnica (one from whom a person is descended) · hu ős (an earlier type) · bg предшественик (one from whom a person is descended) · tpi tumbuna (one from whom a person is descended) · ca ancestre (one from whom a person is descended) · ru пра́щур (one from whom a person is descended) · ru праоте́ц (one from whom a person is descended) · grc πρόγονος (one from whom a person is descended) · clt nungpaa (one from whom a person is descended) · el πρόγονος (one from whom a person is descended) · sh прамајка (one from whom a person is descended) · fo forfaðir (one from whom a person is descended) · si මුතුන් මිත්තෝ (one from whom a person is descended) · ga sinsearach (one from whom a person is descended) · es antepasado (one from whom a person is descended) · it progenitore (one from whom a person is descended) · sh predak (one from whom a person is descended) · th บรรพชน (one from whom a person is descended) · cmn 祖先 (one from whom a person is descended) · ace indatu (one from whom a person is descended) · de Vorläufer (an earlier type) · sh predkinja (one from whom a person is descended) · ee tɔgbui (one from whom a person is descended) · os фыдӕл (one from whom a person is descended) · vo büröletan (one from whom a person is descended) · sk predok (an earlier type) · srn tata (one from whom a person is descended) · th ต้นตระกูล (one from whom a person is descended) · nb forfader (an earlier type) · pdt Väavoda (one from whom a person is descended) · sk predok (one from whom a person is descended) · nn forfar (one from whom a person is descended) · it avo (one from whom a person is descended) · ja 祖先 (one from whom a person is descended) · vi tổ tiên (one from whom a person is descended) · hy նախնի (one from whom a person is descended) · ga sinsearach (an earlier type) · nn stamfar (one from whom a person is descended) · ga sinsear (one from whom a person is descended) · crh ecdat (one from whom a person is descended) · fi esi-isä (one from whom a person is descended) · de Urahne (one from whom a person is descended) · de Stammvater (one from whom a person is descended) · nl voorouder (one from whom a person is descended) · itk פַאטֵירוֹ (one from whom a person is descended) · grc γενέτης (one from whom a person is descended) · enm auncestre (one from whom a person is descended) · ko 조상 (one from whom a person is descended) · cs předek (one from whom a person is descended) · vo jibüröletan (one from whom a person is descended) · nb stamfar (one from whom a person is descended) · mi kahika (one from whom a person is descended) · pl przodek (one from whom a person is descended) · bg прароди́тел (one from whom a person is descended) · lo ບັນພະບຸລຸດ (one from whom a person is descended) · da forfader (one from whom a person is descended) · th บรรพสตรี (one from whom a person is descended) · el πρόγονος (an earlier type) · lt protėvis (one from whom a person is descended) · de Vorfahr (one from whom a person is descended) · lv sence (an earlier type) · sh praroditelj (one from whom a person is descended) · gur sɔa (one from whom a person is descended) · ms nenek moyang (one from whom a person is descended) · it antenato (one from whom a person is descended) · sl prédnik (one from whom a person is descended) · th บรรพบุรุษ (one from whom a person is descended) · gl antenado (one from whom a person is descended) · lv sencis (an earlier type) · sw mhenga (one from whom a person is descended) · fa نیا (one from whom a person is descended) · hi पूर्वज (one from whom a person is descended) · az ata-baba (one from whom a person is descended) · sh pretka (one from whom a person is descended) · mi pūtake (one from whom a person is descended) · de Familiengründer (one from whom a person is descended) · la progenitor (an earlier type) · ru прароди́тель (one from whom a person is descended) · ru пре́док (one from whom a person is descended) · la progenitor (one from whom a person is descended) · swb mudzaɗe (one from whom a person is descended) · fa پیشینیان (one from whom a person is descended) · nrf anchêtre (one from whom a person is descended) · nl voorloper (an earlier type)