ancestor - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: ancestor

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

an·ces·tor

Audio Help [an-ses-ter or, especially Brit., -suh-ster] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a person from whom one is descended; forebear; progenitor.

2.	Biology. the actual or hypothetical form or stock from which an organism has developed or descended.

3.	an object, idea, style, or occurrence serving as a prototype, forerunner, or inspiration to a later one: The balloon is an ancestor of the modern dirigible.

4.	a person who serves as an influence or model for another; one from whom mental, artistic, spiritual, etc., descent is claimed: a philosophical ancestor.

5.	Law. a person from whom an heir derives an inheritance.

[Origin: 1250–1300; ME ancestre < OF (with t developed between s and r) < L antecessor antecessor

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
ancestor

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

an·ces·tor Audio Help (ān'sěs'tər) Pronunciation Key
n.

A person from whom one is descended, especially if more remote than a grandparent; a forebear.
A forerunner or predecessor.
Law The person from whom an estate has been inherited.
Biology The actual or hypothetical organism or stock from which later kinds evolved.

[Middle English auncestre, from Old French, from Latin antecessor, predecessor, from antecessus, past participle of antecēdere, to precede : ante-, ante- + cēdere, to go; see ked- in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: 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

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ancestor

1297, from O.Fr. ancestre, from L.L. antecessor "predecessor," lit. "foregoer," agent noun from L. antecess-, stem of antecedere "precede," agent noun from ante- "before" (see ante) + cedere "to go" (see cede).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

ancestor
noun
someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent) [ant: descendant]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ancestor [ˈӕnsistə, (American) -ses-] noun — feminine ˈancestress

a person who was a member of one's family a long time ago and from whom one is descended

Arabic:	سَلَف، جَد أعْلى
Chinese (Simplified):	祖先
Chinese (Traditional):	祖先
Czech:	předek
Danish:	forfader; ane
Dutch:	voorouder
Estonian:	esivanem
Finnish:	esi-isä
French:	ancêtre
German:	der, *die Vorfahr(in)
Greek:	πρόγονος
Hungarian:	ős
Icelandic:	forfaðir
Indonesian:	leluhur
Italian:	antenato, avo

Japanese:	祖先
Latvian:	sencis; priekštecis
Lithuanian:	protėvis
Norwegian:	stamfar, -mor, forfedre, -mødre
Polish:	przodek
Portuguese (Brazil):	ancestral
Portuguese (Portugal):	antepassado
Romanian:	strămoş
Russian:	предок
Slovak:	predok
Slovenian:	prednik
Spanish:	antepasado; antepasada
Swedish:	förfader
Turkish:	ata, soy, cet

See also: ancestry

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Ancestor

An"ces*tor\, n. [OE. ancestre, auncestre, also ancessour; the first forms fr. OF. ancestre, F. anc[^e]tre, fr. the L. nom. antessor one who goes before; the last form fr. OF. ancessor, fr. L. acc. antecessorem, fr. antecedere to go before; ante before + cedere to go. See Cede, and cf. Antecessor.]

1. One from whom a person is descended, whether on the father's or mother's side, at any distance of time; a progenitor; a fore father.

2. (Biol.) An earlier type; a progenitor; as, this fossil animal is regarded as the ancestor of the horse.

3. (Law) One from whom an estate has descended; -- the correlative of heir.

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