Ancestor
noun
A person from whom you are born, like a grandparent or great-grandparent.
My grandmother showed me a photo of our ancestors.
noun
Something older or more primitive from which something else has developed.
The typewriter is an ancestor of the modern computer keyboard.
Often appears as...
- ancestral home
- ancestral origins
noun
A founder or early prominent figure in a field or movement.
Plato is often called the ancestor of Western philosophy.
Often appears as...
- ancestral knowledge
- ancestral wisdom
noun
A person from whom you are born, like a grandparent or great-grandparent.
My grandmother showed me a photo of our ancestors.
noun
Something older or more primitive from which something else has developed.
The typewriter is an ancestor of the modern computer keyboard.
Often appears as...
- ancestral home
- ancestral origins
noun
A founder or early prominent figure in a field or movement.
Plato is often called the ancestor of Western philosophy.
Often appears as...
- ancestral knowledge
- ancestral wisdom
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Direct Lineage
Refers specifically to blood relatives from whom you are directly descended.
I traced my ancestor back to the 1800s using family records.
Pro Tip 2/3Past Generations
Ancestor encompasses all family members from previous generations, not just recent ones.
Our ancestors lived through significant historical events many years ago.
Pro Tip 3/3Cultural Significance
In many cultures, ancestors are respected and honored for their wisdom and contributions.
During the festival, we pay homage to our ancestors.
Pro Tip 1/3Direct Lineage
Refers specifically to blood relatives from whom you are directly descended.
I traced my ancestor back to the 1800s using family records.
Pro Tip 2/3Past Generations
Ancestor encompasses all family members from previous generations, not just recent ones.
Our ancestors lived through significant historical events many years ago.
Pro Tip 3/3Cultural Significance
In many cultures, ancestors are respected and honored for their wisdom and contributions.
During the festival, we pay homage to our ancestors.
Pro Tip 1/3Direct Lineage
Refers specifically to blood relatives from whom you are directly descended.
I traced my ancestor back to the 1800s using family records.
Pro Tip 2/3Past Generations
Ancestor encompasses all family members from previous generations, not just recent ones.
Our ancestors lived through significant historical events many years ago.
Pro Tip 3/3Cultural Significance
In many cultures, ancestors are respected and honored for their wisdom and contributions.
During the festival, we pay homage to our ancestors.
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Video examples
What causes cavities? -...
the more our teeth are put at risk. Those cavemen would hardly have indulged in sugary treats, however, so what caused their cavities? In meat-heavy diets, there would have been a low-risk of cavities developing because lean meat contains very little sugar, but that's not all our early human ancestors ate.
Video examples
A brief history of...
Scientists think that crying and feeling withdrawn is what originally helped our ancestors secure social bonds and helped them get the support they needed. Sadness, as opposed to anger or violence, was an expression of suffering that could immediately bring people closer to the suffering person,
Video examples
Exploring the Bay of...
In my family there's four generations who have all guided, we have become kaitiaki or guardians, of all the areas, so it’s our responsibility to take care of our whenua, to take care of our land. When I’m walking along this pathway here, I’m walking along the same path as my ancestors
Video examples
How much of human...
and what life was like millennia ago. So what exactly can we find? At shallow depths mingled in with modern-day items, we've discovered all sorts of ancient artifacts. This zone contains evidence of how our ancestors fished, how they repaired their ships, disposed of their trash,
Video examples
The science of skin...
giving skin a darker tone. This built-in sun shield helped protect them from melanoma, likely making them evolutionarily fitter and capable of passing this useful trait on to new generations. But soon, some of our Sun-adapted ancestors migrated northward out of the tropical zone,
Video examples
The scientific origins...
and other monsters and gods were created by our early ancestors to rationalize the terrifying things that they saw in the natural world but did not understand. And while we can't explain every aspect of their stories, there may be some actual science that reveals itself
Video examples
Fact-checking the Bible...
there's never been a census that ridiculous all right like because the why in the world would you have a census that required people to go back to their ancestral homeland when the whole point of a census is to find out where you are
Video examples
The ferocious predatory...
and fierce storms made life unpredictable. Dinosaurs flourished on land, pterosaurs roamed the skies, and giant marine reptiles and sharks swam in warm seas. Small mammals, our ancestors, lived quite literally in the shadow
Video examples
East vs west -- the...
And every culture comes up with its own understanding of life, its own customized version of mythology. Culture is a reaction to nature, and this understanding of our ancestors is transmitted generation from generation
Video examples
This Spacecraft Maps 1.5...
gaia coming up on separation of the boosters ancestral mother of all life on earth the four boosters the four points of light falling away
Video examples
What causes cavities? -...
the more our teeth are put at risk. Those cavemen would hardly have indulged in sugary treats, however, so what caused their cavities? In meat-heavy diets, there would have been a low-risk of cavities developing because lean meat contains very little sugar, but that's not all our early human ancestors ate.
Video examples
A brief history of...
Scientists think that crying and feeling withdrawn is what originally helped our ancestors secure social bonds and helped them get the support they needed. Sadness, as opposed to anger or violence, was an expression of suffering that could immediately bring people closer to the suffering person,
Video examples
Exploring the Bay of...
In my family there's four generations who have all guided, we have become kaitiaki or guardians, of all the areas, so it’s our responsibility to take care of our whenua, to take care of our land. When I’m walking along this pathway here, I’m walking along the same path as my ancestors
Video examples
How much of human...
and what life was like millennia ago. So what exactly can we find? At shallow depths mingled in with modern-day items, we've discovered all sorts of ancient artifacts. This zone contains evidence of how our ancestors fished, how they repaired their ships, disposed of their trash,
Video examples
The science of skin...
giving skin a darker tone. This built-in sun shield helped protect them from melanoma, likely making them evolutionarily fitter and capable of passing this useful trait on to new generations. But soon, some of our Sun-adapted ancestors migrated northward out of the tropical zone,
Video examples
The scientific origins...
and other monsters and gods were created by our early ancestors to rationalize the terrifying things that they saw in the natural world but did not understand. And while we can't explain every aspect of their stories, there may be some actual science that reveals itself
Video examples
Fact-checking the Bible...
there's never been a census that ridiculous all right like because the why in the world would you have a census that required people to go back to their ancestral homeland when the whole point of a census is to find out where you are
Video examples
The ferocious predatory...
and fierce storms made life unpredictable. Dinosaurs flourished on land, pterosaurs roamed the skies, and giant marine reptiles and sharks swam in warm seas. Small mammals, our ancestors, lived quite literally in the shadow
Video examples
East vs west -- the...
And every culture comes up with its own understanding of life, its own customized version of mythology. Culture is a reaction to nature, and this understanding of our ancestors is transmitted generation from generation
Video examples
This Spacecraft Maps 1.5...
gaia coming up on separation of the boosters ancestral mother of all life on earth the four boosters the four points of light falling away
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
John Shelby Spong
American Clergyman
I admire our ancestors, whoever they were. I think the first self-conscious person must have shaken in his boots. Because as he becomes self-conscious, he's no longer part of nature. He sees himself against nature. He looks at the vastness of the universe and it looks hostile.
Quote examples
Brad Schneider
American Politician
Much as I wish it were not so, we do live in a dangerous world. It has, in fact, always been this way. Our earliest ancestors had to worry about predators, natural disasters, disease, and - unique among our species - attacks by other people.
Quote examples
Andre Gray
English Footballer
All kids of all races need to understand, not just about black history but their own history. It's something that will help you in the future, just in terms of moving on in life, understanding the things your ancestors had to go through.
Quote examples
Shinzo Abe
Japanese Statesman
In every country and region, there are practices and ways of living and culture that have been handed down from ancestors. Naturally, I feel that these should be respected.
Quote examples
Jeremy Hardy
British Comedian
I love many places to which I have no connection, but identifying an ancestor, or someone I think is an ancestor, has taken me to places I'd never have gone to otherwise.
Quote examples
Ashraf Barhom
Israeli Actor
We talk different languages, eat different foods, but all humanity has one ancestor, which started from one person, which started from one god.
Quote examples
Jeremy Paxman
British Journalist
I've always thought you have to live life looking forwards, not backwards. I've had no interest at all in who my ancestors are.
Quote examples
Kathy Reichs
American Writer
Bones tell me the story of a person's life - how old they were, what their gender was, their ancestral background.
Quote examples
Henry Louis Gates
American Critic
Ever since I watched 'Roots,' I've dreamed of tracing my African ancestry and helping other people do the same.
Quote examples
Thomas John Barnardo
Irish Celebrity
Character is better than ancestry, and personal conduct is of more importance than the highest.
Quote examples
John Shelby Spong
American Clergyman
I admire our ancestors, whoever they were. I think the first self-conscious person must have shaken in his boots. Because as he becomes self-conscious, he's no longer part of nature. He sees himself against nature. He looks at the vastness of the universe and it looks hostile.
Quote examples
Brad Schneider
American Politician
Much as I wish it were not so, we do live in a dangerous world. It has, in fact, always been this way. Our earliest ancestors had to worry about predators, natural disasters, disease, and - unique among our species - attacks by other people.
Quote examples
Andre Gray
English Footballer
All kids of all races need to understand, not just about black history but their own history. It's something that will help you in the future, just in terms of moving on in life, understanding the things your ancestors had to go through.
Quote examples
Shinzo Abe
Japanese Statesman
In every country and region, there are practices and ways of living and culture that have been handed down from ancestors. Naturally, I feel that these should be respected.
Quote examples
Jeremy Hardy
British Comedian
I love many places to which I have no connection, but identifying an ancestor, or someone I think is an ancestor, has taken me to places I'd never have gone to otherwise.
Quote examples
Ashraf Barhom
Israeli Actor
We talk different languages, eat different foods, but all humanity has one ancestor, which started from one person, which started from one god.
Quote examples
Jeremy Paxman
British Journalist
I've always thought you have to live life looking forwards, not backwards. I've had no interest at all in who my ancestors are.
Quote examples
Kathy Reichs
American Writer
Bones tell me the story of a person's life - how old they were, what their gender was, their ancestral background.
Quote examples
Henry Louis Gates
American Critic
Ever since I watched 'Roots,' I've dreamed of tracing my African ancestry and helping other people do the same.
Quote examples
Thomas John Barnardo
Irish Celebrity
Character is better than ancestry, and personal conduct is of more importance than the highest.
Example 1 of 10
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