ancestor

n.

1. A person from whom one is descended, especially if more remote than a grandparent; a forebear.
2. A forerunner or predecessor.
3. Law. The person from whom an estate has been inherited.
4. Biology. The actual or hypothetical organism or stock from which later kinds evolved.

[Middle English auncestre, from Old French, from Latin antecessor, predecessor, from antecessus, past participle of antecēdere, to precede : ante-, ante- + cēdere, to go.]

SYNONYMS   ancestor, forebear, forefather, progenitor. These nouns denote a person from whom one is descended: ancestors who were farmers; land once owned by his forebears; laws handed down from our forefathers; our progenitors' wisdom.
ANTONYM  descendant

noun

1. A person from whom one is descended: antecedent, ascendant, father, forebear, forefather, foremother, mother, parent, progenitor. Archaic predecessor. See kin, precede/follow.
2. One that precedes, as in time: antecedent, forerunner, precursor, predecessor, progenitor. See precede/follow.

n

Definition: predecessor in family
Antonyms: descendant

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IN BRIEF: A forefather; a person coming early in the family line.

Gil wondered if he had a famous ancestor.

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Ancestor

Dansk (Danish)
n. - forfader, stamfader

Nederlands (Dutch)
voorvader, vorige versie, oertype

Français (French)
n. - ancêtre, souche, aïeul

Deutsch (German)
n. - Vorfahre, Ahn

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - πρόγονος, προπάτορας

Italiano (Italian)
antenato

Português (Portuguese)
n. - ancestral (m) (f), progenitor (m), ascendente (m) (f), antepassado (m)

Русский (Russian)
предок

Español (Spanish)
n. - antepasado, ascendiente, predecesor

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - stamfader

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
祖宗, 祖先, 先驱, 原型, 被继承人

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 祖宗, 祖先, 先驅, 原型, 被繼承人

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 조상, 원형, 피상속인

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 先祖

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) جد أعلي, سلف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אב קדמון‬

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