Ancessour

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A forefather or early relative from whom a person is descended ; a previous holder of an office or inherited property from whom the present holder took it
2. An ancestor who came before in a family line ; someone who held a title or land earlier and passed it on to a successor
3. A distant kinsman from whom one descends ; the earlier owner or office-holder whose rights and property later passed to another

Etymology: Before it meant a family forebear, this word described anyone who had simply gone before. Its Latin source, "antecessor," was built from "ante," meaning "before," and "cedere," meaning "to go." Roman legal writers used the Latin term for a predecessor, and for a teacher who had come before a student. Early English uses kept that wide sense, covering any predecessor, including a holder of an office. The family meaning came to dominate later. The spelling "ancessour" reflects the Anglo-French route into English, and the form "ancestor" likely developed through Latin-influenced respelling, which is why the older "-ess-" spelling disappeared.