[an-ses-ter or, especially Brit., -suh-ster] 
| 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. |
| an·ces·tor (ān'sěs'tər) n.
[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. |
sɛs