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- pronunciation:
- aen
ses
st
 r
[or]
aen
ss
str
- features:
- Word Combinations (noun), Word History, Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition 1: |
a person from whom one is descended, esp. of several generations ago.
Her ancestors came to America from China in the middle of the 1800s.
- synonyms:
- forebear, forefather, progenitor
- similar words:
- father, parent, patriarch, precursor, predecessor, primogenitor
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| definition 2: |
a predecessor or forerunner.
This ancient stringed instrument may be the ancestor of the guitar.- synonyms:
- antecedent, precursor, prototype
- antonyms:
- descendant, successor
- similar words:
- father, forerunner, model, parent, predecessor, progenitor
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| definition 3: |
in biology, an organism or species from which present life forms have evolved.
- synonyms:
- forerunner, primogenitor, progenitor, prototype
- similar words:
- father, mother
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| definition 4: |
in law, a person from whom one receives an inheritance.
- similar words:
- benefactor, testator
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| related words: |
archetype, family |
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The word ancestor comes from a Latin word that means "to go before."
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