as in ancestor
a person who is several generations earlier in an individual's line of descent
the progenitors of today's Maya once ruled a mighty empire that stretched across much of Central America
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Recent Examples of progenitor
By 1900, tonkatsu pork cutlet (progenitor of the katsu sando) had been invented at a restaurant called Rengatei in the ultra-modern Ginza district, which also gave rise to omurice (a phonetic portmanteau of omelet and rice).
—
Betty Hallock, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2025
Ghetto house became the progenitor of Chicago’s thriving juke and footwork scenes, and artists including RP Boo and the United Kingdom’s Night Slugs collective have taken to social media to pay tribute to DJ Funk and his lasting impact on their work.
—Walden Green, Pitchfork, 7 Mar. 2025
This version of the Democratic Party, which featured the progenitor of wokeism, Obama himself, as the leading presidential campaign trail surrogate for Harris, was thoroughly rejected in November by the American people.
—Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
By calculating the positions of nearby stellar clusters through time, the researchers identified two main suspects that could have housed the supernova progenitor.
—Michael Irving, New Atlas, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Betty Hallock, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2025
Ghetto house became the progenitor of Chicago’s thriving juke and footwork scenes, and artists including RP Boo and the United Kingdom’s Night Slugs collective have taken to social media to pay tribute to DJ Funk and his lasting impact on their work.
—Walden Green, Pitchfork, 7 Mar. 2025
This version of the Democratic Party, which featured the progenitor of wokeism, Obama himself, as the leading presidential campaign trail surrogate for Harris, was thoroughly rejected in November by the American people.
—Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
By calculating the positions of nearby stellar clusters through time, the researchers identified two main suspects that could have housed the supernova progenitor.
—Michael Irving, New Atlas, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for progenitor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for progenitor
Noun
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Porter County Board of Commissioners President Jim Biggs noted his ancestors were among the first white settlers in the county in 1835, at a settlement a few hundred feet from the site.—
Doug Ross,
Chicago Tribune,
18 May 2025
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Moringa oleifera is native to Indian subcontinent, particularly the Himalayan foothills, while another species, Moringa stenopetala, grows in the Horn of Africa: southern Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and even Somalia, where Elba’s ancestors are from.—
India Espy-Jones,
Essence,
15 May 2025
Noun
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If Bill Rusher was a closeted gay man, he was tucked back there in the far corner, next to his grandfather’s golf clubs.—
Neal B. Freeman,
National Review,
13 May 2025
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My grandfather ran a hotel in Sorrento, where I was born.—
Felicity Carter,
Forbes.com,
12 May 2025
Noun
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Their father, King George VI, had announced via radio broadcast that World War II was over in Europe after six years of fighting and the princesses joined him on the balcony of Buckingham Palace multiple times to greet the cheering crowds gathered below.—
Janine Henni,
People.com,
9 May 2025
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McCall’s father had survived but suffered 30 per cent burns.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
9 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Progenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/progenitor. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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