ancestor

ancestor

noun

Definition of 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)