Ancestral Ancestral

Ancestral - Definition and Overview

Related Words: Atavistic, Autochthonous, Humanoid, Maternal, Mother, Parent, Paternal, Patriarchal, Prehistoric, Prime, Primitive

An ancestor is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an ancestor. So this includes a father or mother, as well as grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on.

Two individuals have a genetic relationship if one is the ancestor of the other or if they share a common ancestor; in a curious use of language in evolutionary theory, this is called common descent. (Strictly speaking this may not be true for some bacteria and similar organisms which are capable of direct horizontal gene transfer.)

Some societies have had a form of ancestor worship; most modern societies seem to have focused this into genealogy.

See also

Example Usage of Ancestral

joelgm: Grim kurta clad debilitated politicians and their Ancestral political lineage have no business shaping the future of our country.
mrtonylee: @fpinternational Oi think oi'm gonna chimbly up the rumpus, wit da Ancestral language ov da british isles wot 'as gone on the ol' dingaling.
taketheZtrain: I have avatistically reverted to an Ancestral form which lived on the ocean floor synthesizing moonlight for sustenance
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