ancestral
Portuguese, noun/ɐ̃.sesˈtɾaw/
ancestral is spelled A-N-C-E-S-T-R-A-L (9 letters) and appears 5.5 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 11,403rd most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Ancestral is a Portuguese feminine noun meaning “ancestor; forefather (someone from whom a person is descended)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “antepassado”.
What does ancestral mean in English?
adjective
- 1
femininemasculineancestral (relating to ancestors)
- 2
femininemasculinearchaic (extremely old)
noun
- 1
femininemasculineancestor; forefather (someone from whom a person is descended)
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. relativo a antepassados 2. relativo a avoengos 3. avito 4. antigo
noun: 1. antepassado
The definition in the Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), in Portuguese.
Source: Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of ancestral
- ancestrais plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce ancestral?
- Brazil /ɐ̃.sesˈtɾaw/
- Brazil [ɐ̃.sesˈtɾaʊ̯]
- /ɐ̃.seʃˈtɾaw/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to ancestral
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is ancestral in Portuguese?
ancestral appears 5.5 times per million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).