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Added 6 October 2026

ancestor

/ˈæn.sɛs.tɚ/ noun

In Latin: progenitor, progenitrix, avus Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about ancestor at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

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.
An earlier type; a progenitor.
This fossil animal is regarded as the ancestor of the horse.
One from whom an estate has descended;—the correlative of heir.

verb

To be an ancestor of.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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