forefather
/ˈfɔɹˌfɑːðɚ/noun
forefather is spelled F-O-R-E-F-A-T-H-E-R: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 93,703rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, forefather means “An ancestor” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of forefather is forefathers.
How many letters and syllables are in forefather?
| Letters | 10: F-O-R-E-F-A-T-H-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 93,703rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is forefather?
Forefather appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 93,703rd 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 forefather?
- UK /ˈfɔːˌfɑːðə/
- US /ˈfɔɹˌfɑːðɚ/
Forefather has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-forefather.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of forefather
- forefathers plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does forefather mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An ancestor.
- 2
A cultural ancestor; one who originated an idea or tradition.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forefather in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense ancestor:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | aïeul, ancêtre |
| German | Vorfahre |
| Portuguese | antepassado |
| Spanish | ancestro, antepasado, ascendiente, predecesor |
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.
Where does forefather come from?
From Middle English forefader, forfader, vorvader, from Old English forefæder (“forefather”), but possibly also merged with Old Norse forfaðir. Equivalent to fore- + father. Compare Dutch voorvader (“forefather”), German Vorvater, Vorfahr (“forefather”), Danish forfader (“forefather”), Swedish förfader (“forefather”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).