Ancestor — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kˈæpstənz/

🇬🇧British English

/ˈansɛstə/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ˈansɛstə/

3 syllables Say it as /kˈæpstənz/.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

antecedent ascendant root ascendent

Antonyms

descendant

Word Forms

ancestral	adjective	inherited or inheritable by established rules (usually legal rules) of descent
antecedent	adjective	preceding in time or order

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Vorfahr

jemand, von dem Sie abstammen (aber normalerweise weiter entfernt als ein Großelternteil)

🇫🇷French

ancêtre

quelqu'un dont vous descendez (mais généralement plus éloigné qu'un grand-parent)

🇪🇸Spanish

antepasado

alguien de quien desciendes (pero generalmente más remoto que un abuelo)

🇮🇹Italian

antenato

qualcuno da cui discendi (ma di solito più remoto di un nonno)

🇳🇱Dutch

voorvader

iemand van wie je afstamt (maar meestal verder weg dan een grootouder)

🇵🇹Portuguese

antepassado

alguém de quem você descende (mas geralmente mais distante que um avô)

🇷🇺Russian

предок

кто-то, от кого вы произошли (но обычно более отдаленно, чем дедушка и бабушка)

India

🇮🇳Hindi

पूर्वज

कोई ऐसा व्यक्ति जिसके वंशज आप हैं (लेकिन आमतौर पर दादा-दादी से अधिक दूर)

🇧🇩Bengali

পূর্বপুরুষ

এমন কেউ যার থেকে আপনি বংশধর (তবে সাধারণত দাদা-দাদির চেয়ে বেশি দূরবর্তী)

🇮🇳Tamil

மூதாதையர்

நீங்கள் யாரிடமிருந்து வந்தவர் (ஆனால் பொதுவாக ஒரு தாத்தா பாட்டியை விட தொலைதூரத்தில்)

🇮🇳Telugu

పూర్వీకుడు

మీరు ఎవరి నుండి వచ్చిన వారు (కానీ సాధారణంగా తాతయ్య కంటే చాలా రిమోట్)

🇮🇳Marathi

पूर्वज

कोणीतरी ज्याच्यापासून तुम्ही वंशज आहात (परंतु सहसा आजी-आजोबापेक्षा जास्त दूरस्थ)

🇮🇳Gujarati

પૂર્વજ

કોઈ વ્યક્તિ કે જેના પરથી તમે વંશજ છો (પરંતુ સામાન્ય રીતે દાદા દાદી કરતાં વધુ દૂરસ્થ)

🇮🇳Kannada

ಪೂರ್ವಜ

ನೀವು ಯಾರಿಂದ ಬಂದವರು (ಆದರೆ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಅಜ್ಜಿಯರಿಗಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ದೂರಸ್ಥ)

🇮🇳Malayalam

പൂർവ്വികൻ

നിങ്ങളുടെ വംശപരമ്പരയിൽ നിന്നുള്ള ഒരാൾ (എന്നാൽ സാധാരണയായി ഒരു മുത്തശ്ശിയേക്കാൾ വിദൂരമാണ്)

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਪੂਰਵਜ

ਕੋਈ ਜਿਸ ਤੋਂ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਉਤਰੇ ਹੋ (ਪਰ ਆਮ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ ਦਾਦਾ-ਦਾਦੀ ਨਾਲੋਂ ਜ਼ਿਆਦਾ ਦੂਰ)

🇵🇰Urdu

اجداد

کوئی ایسا شخص جس سے آپ کی نسل ہے (لیکن عام طور پر دادا دادی سے زیادہ دور ہے)

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

祖先

您的后裔（但通常比祖父母更遥远）

🇯🇵Japanese

祖先

自分の子孫である誰か（ただし、通常は祖父母よりも遠い）

🇰🇷Korean

선조

당신의 후손인 사람(그러나 일반적으로 조부모보다 더 멀리 떨어져 있음)

🇻🇳Vietnamese

tổ tiên

ai đó là hậu duệ của bạn (nhưng thường xa hơn ông bà)

🇹🇭Thai

บรรพบุรุษ

คนที่คุณสืบเชื้อสายมา (แต่มักจะอยู่ห่างไกลมากกว่าปู่ย่าตายาย)

🇮🇩Indonesian

leluhur

seseorang yang merupakan keturunan Anda (tetapi biasanya lebih jauh dari kakek dan nenek)

🇵🇭Filipino

ninuno

isang taong pinanggalingan mo (ngunit karaniwang mas malayo kaysa sa isang lolo o lola)

🇲🇾Malay

moyang

seseorang dari mana anda berasal (tetapi biasanya lebih jauh daripada datuk nenek)

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

سلف

شخص تنحدر منه (ولكن عادة ما يكون أبعد من الجد)

🇮🇷Persian

جد

شخصی که از او تبار هستید (اما معمولاً از پدربزرگ و مادربزرگ دورتر است)

🇹🇷Turkish

ata

soyundan geldiğiniz biri (ancak genellikle büyükanne veya büyükbabanızdan daha uzakta)

🇮🇱Hebrew

אָב קַדמוֹן

מישהו שממנו אתה צאצא (אבל בדרך כלל רחוק יותר מסבא וסבתא)

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'ancestor'?

The primary meaning of 'ancestor' is 'someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'ancestor' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'ancestor' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'ancestor' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'ancestor' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'ancestor' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'ancestor' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'ancestor' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'ancestor' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'ancestor' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'ancestor' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted