Ancestor Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Definition of ancestor ... 1a : 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 ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut ancestor noun SaveWord an·​ces·​tor |\ˈan-ˌse-stər also-sə-\ Definitionofancestor 1a :onefromwhomapersonisdescendedandwhoisusuallymoreremoteinthelineofdescentthanagrandparent HerancestorscametoAmericainthe1880s. b :forefathersense2 2 :forerunner,prototype anexhibitoftheancestorsofthemoderncomputer 3 :aprogenitor(seeprogenitorsense1b)ofamorerecentorexistingspeciesorgroup theancestorofthemodernhorse Synonyms&Antonyms MoreExampleSentences PhrasesContainingancestor LearnMoreAboutancestor Synonyms&Antonymsforancestor Synonyms father, forebear (alsoforbear), forebearer, forefather, grandfather, primogenitor, progenitor Antonyms descendant (alsodescendent) VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofancestorinaSentence MyancestorscametoAmericaduringthe1800s. Herancestorsweregreatseacaptains. anancientanimalthatwastheancestorofthemodernhorse Themuseumincludedanexhibitshowingancestorsofthemoderncomputer. severallanguagesthatarederivedfromacommonancestor LatinistheancestorofItalianandFrench. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb Oaks’propensityforhybridizationmeansthatsomewhereoutthere,avisiblyindistinguishableQ.tardifoliahybridcouldbeinvisiblyharboringitsancestor’sgeneticcode. — MarionRenault,TheNewRepublic,20Dec.2021 MarcusMasonMaronn,adescendantofMason,furiouslydefendedhisancestorandcriticizedthosewhodefinehimbyoneactandignorethatthemassacrecameduringawaragainstafearsomefoe. — MarkPazniokas,courant.com,14Dec.2021 What’smore,probablyneitherofthesespecimensrepresentsadirectancestorofmodernhumans. — RebeccaCoffey,Forbes,9Nov.2021 Ratherthandyingout,theoriginalvirusmutatedintostrainsthatarethedirectancestorofmodernfluviruses. — TheWeekStaff,TheWeek,6June2021 Otherfactors,suchasthespacingofthefootprints,ledthestudyauthorstoconcludethatthatthefootprintswereleftbyapreviouslyunknownspeciesofaveryearlyhumanancestor. — ChristinaLarson,AnchorageDailyNews,2Dec.2021 Anancestorofthewoollymammoth,thefossilsoftheSteppemammothsweresmallerthanpreviouslyfoundfossils,indicatingthespeciesmayhavebeenshrinkingbecauseofcoldertemperatures. — JordanMendoza,USATODAY,21Dec.2021 Theexactspeciesandclassificationhaveyettobedetermined,butthefossilisatetrapod--meaninganimalwithfourlegs--andcouldbeanearlyancestorofeitherreptilesormammals. — SherryLiang,CNN,5Nov.2021 WashingtonsaidhisancestorwasaveteranofWorldWarIIwhomovedtoMissionHillsafterserving. — LosAngelesTimes,31Oct.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'ancestor.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore PhrasesContainingancestor ancestorworship ancestorworship FirstKnownUseofancestor 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1a HistoryandEtymologyforancestor MiddleEnglishancestre,fromAnglo-French,fromLatinantecessorpredecessor,fromantecederetogobefore,fromante-+cederetogo BuyingGuide OurteamatReviewsbyMerriam-Websterhasselectedthebestdnatestkits. LearnMoreAboutancestor Shareancestor PosttheDefinitionofancestortoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofancestoronTwitter TimeTravelerforancestor Thefirstknownuseofancestorwas inthe14thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearancestor Ancerata ancestor ancestorcult SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforancestor Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Ancestor.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ancestor.Accessed15Mar.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforancestor ancestor noun an·​ces·​tor |\ˈan-ˌse-stər \ KidsDefinitionofancestor 1 :apersonfromwhomsomeoneisdescended 2 :somethingfromwhichsomethingelsedevelops ancestor noun an·​ces·​tor Legal Definitionofancestor 1a :apersonfromwhomanindividualisdescended:ascendant b :apersonfromwhomanestatedescends—compareheir 2 :onethatprecedes ancestorintitle MorefromMerriam-Websteronancestor Nglish:TranslationofancestorforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofancestorforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY gregarious SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary FarmIdiomsQuiz Whatdoes'poke'refertointheexpression'piginapoke'? stable stateofdifficulty bag mudpit Testyourvocabularywithour10-questionquiz! TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! 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