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| an·ces·tor [ án sèstər, ánsəstər ] (plural an·ces·tors) |
noun |
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| Definition: |
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1. distant relation somebody is descended from: somebody from whom somebody else is directly descended, especially somebody more distant than a grandparent
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2. forerunner: a predecessor of somebody, e.g. in the development of an art form
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3. biology earlier species: an animal or plant from which a species has evolved
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4. earlier model: a device that was an earlier form of a modern invention or was used as a basis for developing it
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| [14th century. Via Old French ancestre< Latin antecessor "somebody who goes before" < cess-, past participle of cedere "give way"] |
