ancestor
an.ces.tor \'an-.ses-t*r\ \-tr*s\ n [ME ancestre, fr. OF, fr L antecessor one that goes before, fr. ]antecessus, pp. of antecedere to go before, fr. ante- + cedere to go - more at CEDE 1a: one from whom a person is descended and who is usu. more remote in the line of descent than a grandparent 1b: FOREFATHER 2: FORERUNNER, PROTOTYPE 3: a progenitor of a more recent or existing species or group - an.ces.tress n