ancestor

1 a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent <Bridie's Irish ancestors immigrated to the United States in the 19th century during the Great Potato Famine> Synonyms father, forebear (also forbear), forebearer, forefather, grandfather, primogenitor, progenitor Related Words antecessor, predecessor [archaic]; ancestress, foremother, grandmother, matriarch; grandsire [archaic], patriarch, sire [archaic]; ancestry, antecedents, roots Near Antonyms children, family, issue, lineage, offspring, posterity, progeny, seed, stock; daughter, heir, inheritor, scion, son, successor Antonyms descendant (also descendent)

2 something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed <pinball machines—the ancestors of today's video games—go back to the 19th century> Synonyms antecedent, archetype, daddy, foregoer, forerunner, granddaddy (also grandaddy), precursor, predecessor, prototype Related Words model, original; originator, sire; father, mother Near Antonyms by-product, derivative, offshoot, outgrowth, spin-off; daughter, son Antonyms descendant (also descendent)