ancestor

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

|Updated on: 13 Aug 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

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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

Bartlett was the sculptor of the equestrian statue of Lafayette near the Connecticut State Capitol and was an ancestor of Carol's.

— courant.com, "Carol Perrigo Adil," 12 July 2018
To our ancestors, this exotic alloy must have seemed like it was sent by entities beyond our understanding.

— jonathan schifman, Popular Mechanics, "The Entire History of Steel," 9 July 2018
Among them: The ancestors of Bill Ford, the executive chairman of Ford Motor who is leading the effort to establish a Ford campus at the Michigan Central Station and in surrounding blocks.

— john gallagher, Detroit Free Press, "Here's what you might not know about Corktown's history," 9 July 2018
Her ancestors had been enslaved in Buckingham County, Virginia, before the Civil War, and descendants continue living there to this day.

— andrew m. davenport, Smithsonian, "Putting Enslaved Families’ Stories Back in the Monticello Narrative," 14 June 2018
Adding to the economic stress are at least 650,000 recent Syrian refugees, on top of a population that includes millions of Palestinians whose ancestors were displaced from their homes long ago.

— loveday morris, BostonGlobe.com, "Jordan has weathered its worst protests since Arab Spring, but the storm isn’t over," 9 June 2018
Adding to the economic stress are at least 650,000 recent Syrian refugees, on top of a population that includes millions of Palestinians whose ancestors were displaced from their homes long ago.

— loveday morris, Washington Post, "Jordan has weathered its worst protests since the Arab Spring. But the storm isn’t over.," 9 June 2018
Coastal patrol ships are vastly superior to their ancestors.

— WSJ, "Navy Faces Global Chinese Maritime Threat," 21 May 2018
The decontaminators had aimed to make the tombs sufficiently safe for former residents to come and briefly pay their respects to the ancestors.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "As Innocuous as Plant No. 1," 10 Apr. 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