Science Fair Project Dictionary
Ancestor
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English
Etymology
Old English ancestre , auncestre , also ancessour ; the first forms from Old French ancestre , French ancêtre , from the Latin nom. antessor one who goes before; the last form from Old French ancessor , from Latin acc. antecessorem , from antecedere to go before; ante before + cedere to go. See Cede, and compare with Antecessor .
Pronunciation
IPA: WEAE /ˈæn.sɛs.tɚ/ or /-toɹ/
Noun
- One from whom a person is descended, whether on the father's or mother's side, at any distance of time; a progenitor; a fore father.
- (Biology) An earlier type; a progenitor; as, this fossil animal is regarded as the ancestor of the horse.
- (Law) One from whom an estate has descended;—the correlative of heir.
10-26-2009 07:45:12
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The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details