ancestor

/ˌænˈsɛstər/

/ˈænsɛstə/

Other forms: ancestors

An ancestor came before. Your grandmother's grandmother and any relative before her is one of your ancestors.

Ante-, a common Latin prefix, means "before." Cedere is Latin for "to go." So, an ancestor is someone who has gone before us. Evolutionary biologists have advanced the theory that all life on earth descends from a common ancestor. Ancestor can also mean "prototype" or "forerunner." The abacus is a distant ancestor of today's supercomputers.

Definitions of ancestor

1. noun

   someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
   synonyms: antecedent, ascendant, ascendent, root

   antonyms:

   descendant

   a person considered as descended from some ancestor or race

   types:

   ancestress

   a woman ancestor

   forbear, forebear

   a person from whom you are descended

   father, forefather, sire

   the founder of a family

   foremother

   a woman ancestor

   primogenitor, progenitor

   an ancestor in the direct line

   genitor

   a natural father or mother

   grandparent

   a parent of your father or mother

   great grandparent

   a parent of your grandparent

   patriarch

   any of the early biblical characters regarded as fathers of the human race

   type of:

   relation, relative

   a person related by blood or marriage