n.
Pronunciation: ' an- ˌ ses-t ə r also -s ə s-
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English ancestre, from Anglo-French, from Latin antecessor predecessor, from antecedere to go before, from ante- + cedere to go
Date: 13th century
1 a : one from whom a person is descended and who is usually more remote in the line of descent than a grandparent b : FOREFATHER 2
2 : FORERUNNER , PROTOTYPE
3 : a progenitor of a more recent or existing species or group