Ancestor

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈæn.sɛs.tɚ/

Definitions

1. Someone from whom a person is descended, typically from several generations back
2. One's progenitor or earlier family member from whom descent is traced through generational succession
3. A person who lived in an earlier generation from whom one is descended

Etymology: The word's core meaning is literal: an ancestor is someone who "goes before." Its Latin ancestor, "antecessor," was built from "ante" (before) and "cedere" (to go), with the agent suffix "-tor" added, so the noun names a person who walks ahead on a path. The sense of forerunner or predecessor came first, and descent from earlier generations grew out of it. The word arrived in English through Old French. Medieval English writers used forms like "ancestre," "auncestre," and "ancessour," reflecting French spellings that had themselves come from Latin "antecessor" and its accusative "antecessorem." The French form "ancestre," now "ancêtre," kept the sense of an earlier relative, and English adopted it with that meaning. The word shares its root with "cede," which entered English from Latin "cedere" as well, so "ancestor" and "cede" are closely related by way of the same verb of motion.

Synonyms: forebear, forefather, ancestor, progenitor, forerunner

Antonyms: descendant, offspring, successor, heir, child