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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; see ked- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] Synonyms: ancestor, forebear, forefather, progenitor These nouns denote a person from whom one is descended: a chart showing the genealogy of her ancestors; land once owned by his forebears; a cemetery where some of my forefathers are buried; descended from illustrious progenitors. Antonym: descendant |
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