forefather

a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent our forefathers bought this farm, and our family has worked it for three generations Synonyms father, forebear (also forbear), forebearer, ancestor, 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)