ancestor (n.)

"one from whom a person is descended," c. 1300, ancestre, antecessour, from Old French ancestre, ancessor "ancestor, forebear, forefather" (12c., Modern French ancêtre), from Late Latin antecessor "predecessor," literally "fore-goer," agent noun from past-participle stem of Latin antecedere "to precede," from ante "before" (from PIE root *ant- "front, forehead," with derivatives meaning "in front of, before") + cedere "to go" (from PIE root *ked- "to go, yield"). The current form is from early 15c. Feminine form ancestress is recorded from 1570s.

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to ancestor

ancestral (adj.)

"pertaining to ancestors," 1520s, from Old French ancestrel (Anglo-French auncestrel) "ancestral," from ancestre (see ancestor). Alternative form ancestorial is from 1650s. Related: Ancestrally.

ancestry (n.)

"series or line of ancestors, descent from ancestors," early 14c., auncestrie, from Old French ancesserie "ancestry, ancestors, forefathers," from ancestre (see ancestor). The spelling was modified in English by influence of ancestor.

antecessor

*ant-

*ked-

See all related words (5) >

Trends of ancestor

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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descendant

mid-15c. (adj.) "extending downward;" c. 1600 (n.) "an individual proceeding from an ancestor in any degree," from French descendant (13c.), present participle of descendre "to come down" (see descend). Despite a tendency to use descendent for the adjective and descendant for the

ascendant

late 14c., ascendent, in astrology, "rising over the horizon," from Latin ascendentem (nominative ascendans), present participle of ascendere "to mount, ascend, go up" (see ascend). The sense "moving upward, rising" is recorded from 1590s. As a noun in astrology, "point of the ec

antecedent

late 14c. in grammar ("noun to which a pronoun refers") and in logic ("if A is, then B is;" A is the antecedent, B the consequent), from Old French antecedent (14c.) or directly from Latin antecedentem (nominative antecedens), noun use of present participle of antecedere "go befo

parent

(late 12c. as a surname), "a mother or father; a forebear, ancestor," from Old French parent "father, parent, relative, kin..." (11c.) and directly from Latin parentem (nominative parens) "father or mother, ancestor," noun use of present participle...

atavism

biology, "reversion by influence of heredity to ancestral characteristics, resemblance of a given organism to some remote ancestor...French atavisme, attested by 1820s, said to have been coined by French botanist Antoine-Nicolas Duchesne, from Latin atavus "ancestor...

progenitor

late 14c., progenitour, "an ancestor in the direct line," from Anglo-French progenitour (mid-14c.), Old French progeniteur...(14c.) and directly from Latin progenitor "ancestor, the founder of a family," agent noun from progenitus, past participle...

primogenitor

"an ancestor, a forefather," 1650s, from Medieval Latin primogenitor, from Latin primo (adv.)...

father

Middle English fader, from Old English fæder "he who begets a child, nearest male ancestor;" also "any lineal male ancestor; the Supreme Being," and by late Old English, "one who exercises parental care over another," from Proto-Germanic *fader (source also of Old Saxon fadar, Ol

relation

c. 1300, relacioun, "relationship, connection, correspondence;" late 14c. as "act of telling or relating in words," from Anglo-French relacioun, Old French relacion "report, connection" (14c.) and directly from Latin relationem (nominative relatio) "a bringing back, restoring; a

oriental

late 14c., "of the orient; from the east," from Old French oriental "eastern, from the east" (12c.) and directly from Latin orientalis "of or belonging to the east," from orientem (see orient (n.)). Originally in reference to the sky, geographical sense, often with a capital O-,

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updated on September 21, 2022

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Dictionary entries near ancestor

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