An ancestor came before. Your grandmother's grandmother and any relative before her is one of your ancestors.

Ante-, a common Latin prefix, means "before." Cedere is Latin for "to go." So, an ancestor is someone who has gone before us. Evolutionary biologists have advanced the theory that all life on earth descends from a common ancestor. Ancestor can also mean "prototype" or "forerunner." The abacus is a distant ancestor of today's supercomputers.

Definitions of ancestor
  1. noun
    synonyms: antecedent, ascendant, ascendent, root
    see moresee less
    descendant, descendent
    a person considered as descended from some ancestor or race
    show 12 examples...
    hide 12 examples...
    Blessed Virgin
    show 9 types...
    hide 9 types...
    a woman ancestor
    forbear, forebear
    a person from whom you are descended
    father, forefather, sire
    the founder of a family
    a woman ancestor
    primogenitor, progenitor
    an ancestor in the direct line
    a natural father or mother
    a parent of your father or mother
    great grandparent
    a parent of your grandparent
    type of:
    relation, relative
    a person related by blood or marriage
Word Family