a person, typically one more remote than a grandparent, from whom one is descended 祖先 he could trace his ancestors back to James the First. 他可以把先祖追溯到詹姆斯一世。 ■an early type of animal or plant from which others have evolved (动植物的)原种 ■an early version of a machine, artefact, system, etc., which later became more developed (机械、人工制品或制度等的)原型
语源
Middle English : from Old French ancestre, from Latin antecessor, from antecedere, from ante 'before' + cedere 'go'