a person from whom one is descended; forebear; progenitor.

Biology . the actual or hypothetical form or stock from which an organism has developed or descended.

an object, idea, style, or occurrence serving as a prototype, forerunner, or inspiration to a later one

The balloon is an ancestor of the modern dirigible.

a person who serves as an influence or model for another; one from whom mental, artistic, spiritual, etc., descent is claimed

a philosophical ancestor.

Law . a person from whom an heir derives an inheritance.

noun

descendant

noun

antecedent , antecessor , ascendant , forebear , forefather , foregoer , foremother , forerunner , founder , precursor , primogenitor , progenitor , father , mother , parent , predecessor , adam , ancestry , atavism , clade , cult , derivation , elder , eve , extraction , forbear , genealogy , lineage , monophyletic , paternity , patriarch , pedigree , polyphyletic , procreator , prototype , sire , stemma