ANCESTOR

AN'CESTOR, noun [Latin antecessor, of ante, before, and cedo, to go.]One from whom a person descends, either by the father or mother, at any distance of time, in the tenth or hundredth generation. An ancestor precedes in the order of nature or blood; a predecessor, in the order of office.

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ancestor. Ancestor, n. one from whom we descend

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An″ces‐tor (�), n. [[OE. ancestre, auncestre, also ancessour; the first forms fr. OF. ancestre, F. ancêtre, fr. the L. nom. antessor one who goes before; the last form fr. OF. ancessor, fr. L. acc. antecessorem, fr. antecedere to go before; ante before + cedere to go. See Cede, and cf. Antecessor.]] 1. 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 fore father.
2. 2. (Biol.) An earlier type; a progenitor; as, this fossil animal is regarded as the ancestor of the horse.
3. 3. (Law) One from whom an estate has descended; — the correlative of heir.