forebear

a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent his forebears came to America on the Mayflower Synonyms father, ancestor (also forbear), forebearer, forefather, grandfather, primogenitor, progenitorRelated Words antecessor, predecessor [archaic]; ancestress, foremother, grandmother, matriarch; grandsire [archaic], patriarch, sire [archaic]; ancestry, antecedents, rootsNear Antonyms children, family, issue, lineage, offspring, posterity, progeny, seed, stock; daughter, heir, inheritor, scion, son, successorAntonyms descendant (also descendent)