Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Ancestor
An′ces-tor
,Noun.
[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.
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.
(Biol.)
An earlier type; a progenitor;
as, this fossil animal is regarded as the
. ancestor
of the horse3.
(Law)
One from whom an estate has descended; – the correlative of heir.
Webster 1828 Edition
Ancestor
AN'CESTOR
,Noun.
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.