ancestor
an·ces·tor/ˈæn.sɛs.tɚ/noun, verb
ancestor is spelled A-N-C-E-S-T-O-R: 8 letters and 3 syllables (an·ces·tor). It appears 3.1 times per million words in written English, the 15,146th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ancestor means “One from whom a person is descended, whether on the father's or mother's side, at any distance of time; a progenitor; a forefather; a forebear” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ancestor is ancestors.
How many letters and syllables are in ancestor?
| Letters | 8: A-N-C-E-S-T-O-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: an·ces·tor |
| In writing | 3.1 times per million words; the 15,146th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ancestor?
Ancestor appears 3.1 times per million words in written English, the 15,146th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ancestor?
- US /ˈæn.sɛs.tɚ/
- UK /ˈæn.sɛs.tə/
Ancestor has 3 syllables, split an·ces·tor in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ancestor.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ancestor
- ancestors plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- ancestoring participle, present
- ancestored participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ancestor mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One from whom a person is descended, whether on the father's or mother's side, at any distance of time; a progenitor; a forefather; a forebear.
- 2
An earlier type; a progenitor.
This fossil animal is regarded as the ancestor of the horse.
- 3
One from whom an estate has descended;–the correlative of heir.
- 4
One who had the same role or function in former times.
- 5
A word or phrase which serves as the origin of a term in another language.
verb
- 1
To be an ancestor of.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ancestor in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one from whom a person is descended:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ancêtre |
| German | Vorfahr, Vorfahrin, Ahn, Ahne, Ahnin |
| Portuguese | ancestral, antepassado |
| Spanish | ancestro, antepasado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.