During O-bon, Japanese people believe they receive a visit from an ancestor.
Source: tatoeba (281726)
Ancestor
//ˈæn.sɛs.tɚ//
Synonyms for "ancestor" (69 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (14)
Strong matches (21)
Related words (34)
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
3 entriesMore specific
12 entriesAntonyms
3 entriesSynonyms
2 entriesderived
19 entriesShowing 16 of 19 words.
etymologically related_to
1 entrieshas context
1 entriesholonym
1 entriesis a
1 entriesrelated to
2 entriesTranslations
196 translations across 85 languages.
Acehnese
1 entries- indatu noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Afrikaans
1 entries- voorouer noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Ancient Greek
2 entries- γενέτης noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- πρόγονος noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Arabic
1 entries- سَلَف noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Armenian
2 entries- նախահայր noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- նախնի noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Azerbaijani
2 entries- ata-baba noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- əcdad noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Bashkir
1 entries- ата-баба noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Belarusian
1 entries- про́дак noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Breton
1 entries- gourdad noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Bulgarian
4 entries- праоте́ц noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- прароди́тел noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- предше́ственик noun (an earlier type)
- предшественик noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Catalan
3 entries- ancestre noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- antecessor noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- avantpassat noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Central Kurdish
1 entries- با و باپیر noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Chamicuro
1 entries- ka'nil sheye noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Chinese Cantonese
1 entries- 祖先 noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 祖先 noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Cornish
1 entries- hendas noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Crimean Tatar
1 entries- ecdat noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Czech
1 entries- předek noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Danish
2 entries- forfader noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- stamfader noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Dutch
2 entries- voorloper noun (an earlier type)
- voorouder noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Esperanto
1 entries- praulo noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Estonian
1 entries- esivanem noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Ewe
1 entries- tɔgbui noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Farefare
2 entries- sɔa noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- yaaba noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Faroese
1 entries- forfaðir noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Finnish
3 entries- esi-isä noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- esi-isä noun (an earlier type)
- esivanhempi noun (one from whom a person is descended)
French
1 entries- ancêtre noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Galician
4 entries- antecesor noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- antenado noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- antergo noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- devanceiro noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Georgian
1 entries- წინაპარი noun (one from whom a person is descended)
German
4 entries- Ahn noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- Ahne noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- Ahne noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- Ahnin noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Gothic
1 entries- 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌹𐌶𐌰 noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Greek
3 entries- προπάτορας noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- πρόγονος noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- πρόγονος noun (an earlier type)
Hindi
2 entries- पूर्वज noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- पूर्ववर्ती noun (an earlier type)
Hungarian
4 entries- előd noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- előd noun (an earlier type)
- felmenő noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- ős noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Ido
1 entries- ancestro noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Indonesian
2 entries- leluhur noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- moyang noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Irish
4 entries- sinsear noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- sinsear noun (an earlier type)
- sinsearach noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- sinsearach noun (an earlier type)
Italian
4 entries- abiatico noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- antenato noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- ascendente noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- avo noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Japanese
4 entries- 先祖 noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- 祖先 noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- 祖先 noun (an earlier type)
- 語源 noun (a word of origin)
Judeo-Italian
1 entries- פַאטֵירוֹ noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Korean
4 entries- 선조 noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- 원형 noun (an earlier type)
- 전신 noun (an earlier type)
- 조상 noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Lao
2 entries- ບັນພະບຸລຸດ noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- ບັນພະບູລຸດ noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Latin
4 entries- ava noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- avus noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- progenitor noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- progenitor noun (an earlier type)
Latvian
4 entries- sence noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- sence noun (an earlier type)
- sencis noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- sencis noun (an earlier type)
Lithuanian
1 entries- protėvis noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Lutuv
1 entries- nungpaa noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Macedonian
1 entries- предок noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Malay
2 entries- leluhur noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- nenek moyang noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Maore Comorian
1 entries- mudzaɗe noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Marathi
1 entries- पूर्वज noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Middle English
1 entries- auncestre noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Moore
1 entries- yaaba noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Māori
4 entries- heinga noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- kahika noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- kauwheke noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- kohika noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Norman
1 entries- anchêtre noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Norwegian Bokmål
3 entries- forfader noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- forfader noun (an earlier type)
- stamfar noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Norwegian Nynorsk
4 entries- forfader noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- forfader noun (an earlier type)
- forfar noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- forfar noun (an earlier type)
Occitan
1 entries- ancessor noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Old English
1 entries- ieldra noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Old Turkic
1 entries- 𐰯𐰀 noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Persian
2 entries- نیا noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- پیشینیان noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Plautdietsch
1 entries- Väavoda noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Polish
4 entries- antenat noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- antenatka noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- przodek noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- wstępny noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Portuguese
3 entries- ancestral noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- ancestral noun (an earlier type)
- antepassado noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Romanian
3 entries- predecesor noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- străbun noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- strămoș noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Russian
4 entries- пра́щур noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- праоте́ц noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- прароди́тель noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- пре́док noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Scottish Gaelic
1 entries- sinnsear noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- pramajka noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- praotac noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- praroditelj noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- predak noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Sinhalese
1 entries- මුතුන් මිත්තෝ noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Slovak
2 entries- predok noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- predok noun (an earlier type)
Slovene
3 entries- prédnica noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- prédnik noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- prédnik noun (an earlier type)
Spanish
2 entries- ancestro noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- antepasado noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Sranan Tongo
1 entries- awo noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Sundanese
1 entries- karuhun noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Swahili
1 entries- mhenga noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Swedish
1 entries- förfader noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Thai
4 entries- ต้นตระกูล noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- บรรพชน noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- บรรพบุรุษ noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- บรรพสตรี noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Tok Pisin
2 entries- tambaran noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- tumbuna noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Tumbuka
1 entries- sekuru noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Turkish
1 entries- ata noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Ukrainian
3 entries- пра́щур noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- пра́щурка noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- пре́док noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Vietnamese
1 entries- tổ tiên noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Volapük
3 entries- büröletan noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- hibüröletan noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- jibüröletan noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Welsh
3 entries- cyndad noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- cyndadau noun (one from whom a person is descended)
- hynafiad noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Woiwurrung
1 entries- liwik noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Yiddish
1 entries- אָבֿ noun (one from whom a person is descended)
Sample sentences
17 total sentences available.
English and German share a common ancestor.
Source: tatoeba (460341)
All living beings would have evolved from a common ancestor.
Source: tatoeba (1160082)
Don't be ridiculous! We are not descended from apes, we only have a common ancestor.
Source: tatoeba (1326950)
Showing 4 of 17 available sentences.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.