ancestor

noun an·ces·tor \ ˈan-ˌses-tər also -səs- \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Examples: ancestor in a Sentence

Definition of ancestor

1 a : one from whom a person is descended and who is usually more remote in the line of descent than a grandparent

Her ancestors came to America in the 1880s.

b : forefather 2

2 : forerunner, prototype

an exhibit of the ancestors of the modern computer

3 : a progenitor (see progenitor 1b) of a more recent or existing species or group

the ancestor of the modern horse

See ancestor defined for English-language learners

See ancestor defined for kids

Examples of ancestor in a Sentence

My ancestors came to America during the 1800s.
Her ancestors were great sea captains.
an ancient animal that was the ancestor of the modern horse
The museum included an exhibit showing ancestors of the modern computer.
several languages that are derived from a common ancestor
Latin is the ancestor of Italian and French.

Recent Examples of ancestor from the Web

During sentencing, Stivers told Womack that he was disturbed that the defendant had chosen to dig the graves of the ancestors of Native Americans for profit.

— sarah brookbank, Cincinnati.com, "Kentucky 'grave robber' sentenced after trafficking Native American artifacts," 8 June 2018
Known as Megachirella wachtleri, this ancient lizard is the direct ancestor of 10,000 current species of reptiles (including lizards and snakes).

— chris ciaccia, Fox News, "240 million year-old 'mother of all lizards' found," 31 May 2018
Flowers had not evolved, and the ground was dominated by primitive plants called lycopods (ancestors of club mosses and quillworts).

— sarah kaplan, chicagotribune.com, "Meet the 240-million-year-old 'mother of all lizards'," 30 May 2018
For this paper, an international team of scientists used statistical methods to reconstruct the ancient ancestors of living bird groups.

— amina khan, latimes.com, "The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs also shaped the evolution of birds," 24 May 2018
But already native groups are moving to sort out which tribe or agency might take possession of the remains and ensure that the ancestor is accorded a dignified — and final — burial.

— jeff gammage, Philly.com, "At Byberry Quaker library, a grim find: Native American remains in display case," 21 May 2018
But there’s a wrinkle; the horses from Botai aren’t the ancestors of modern horses.

— kiona n. smith, Ars Technica, "Tracing how horse domestication turned the Eurasian Steppe into a highway," 11 May 2018
Many went feral, becoming the ancestors of the wild and wily beasts of Florida rancher history.

— vincent crampton, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Explore Florida's Hardee County: Where Cracker history finds a home," 6 May 2018
Like the presence of the ancestors and taking care of the land -- that’s something that Native Americans understand far more.

— dan hyman, Billboard, "Vic Mensa on Launching His SaveMoneySaveLife Foundation & How He Plans to Help Rebuild Chicago," 14 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ancestor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ancestor

Middle English ancestre, from Anglo-French, from Latin antecessor predecessor, from antecedere to go before, from ante- + cedere to go

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

ancestor Synonyms

Other Biology Terms

autochthonous, fecund, homunculus, phylogeny, substrate

ANCESTOR Defined for English Language Learners

ancestor

noun

Definition of ancestor for English Language Learners

: a person who was in someone's family in past times : one of the people from whom a person is descended
: an animal in the past from which a modern animal developed
: something in the past from which something else has developed