[Late Latin prīmōgenitor : Latin prīmō, at first (from prīmus, first; see per1 in Indo-European roots) + Latin genitor, begetter (from genitus, past participle of gignere, to beget; see genə- in Indo-European roots).]
"an ancestor," 1475, from L.L. primogenitor (1361), from L. primo (adv.) "at first," from primus "first" (see prime (adj.)) + genitor "father," from genitus, pp. of gignere "to beget" (see genus). The fem. form is primogenitrix (1875).