Ancestor

Definitions

1. One from whom a person is descended, whether on the father's or mother's side, at any distance of time; a progenitor; a forefather; a forebear.
2. An earlier type; a progenitor
3. One from whom an estate has descended;—the correlative of heir.
4. One who had the same role or function in former times.
   figuratively
5. A word or phrase which serves as the origin of a term in another language.

Equivalents

Examples

“Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine⟳. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless.”

“This fossil animal is regarded as the ancestor of the horse.”

“The Magpies are unbeaten and enjoying their best run⟳ since 1994, although few would have⟳ thought the class of 2011 would come⟳ close⟳ to emulating their ancestors.”

CEFR level