Ancestor

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language

·noun One from whom an estate has descended;

— the correlative of heir.

II. Ancestor ·noun An earlier type; a progenitor; as, this fossil animal is regarded as the ancestor of the horse.

III. Ancestor ·noun One from whom a person is descended, whether on the father's or mother's side, at any distance of time; a progenitor; a fore father.