ancestor: [13] Ultimately, ancestor is the same word as antecedent [14]: both come from the Latin compound verb antecēdere ‘precede’, formed from the prefix ante- ‘before’ and the verb cēdere ‘go’ (source of English cede and a host of related words, such as proceed and access). Derived from this was the agent noun antecessor ‘one who precedes’, which was borrowed into Old French at two distinct times: first as ancessour, and later as ancestre, which subsequently developed to ancêtre. Middle English had examples of all three of these forms. The modern spelling, ancestor, developed in the 16th century. => access, antecedent, cede, precede, proceed
ancestor (n.)
c. 1300, ancestre, antecessour, from Old French ancestre (12c., Modern French ancêtre), from Late Latin antecessor "predecessor," literally "foregoer," agent noun from past participle stem of Latin antecedere "to precede," from ante- "before" (see ante) + cedere "to go" (see cede). Current form from early 15c. Feminine form ancestress recorded from 1570s.
双语例句
1. Her Chinese friends referred to the Empress as their venerable ancestor.
她的中国朋友们说这位女皇是他们值得敬仰的祖先。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The immediate ancestor of rock "n" roll is rhythm-and-blues.
摇滚乐直接源自节奏布鲁斯。
来自柯林斯例句
3. This machine is the ancestor of the modern computer.
这台机器是现代电脑的始祖.
来自《简明英汉词典》
4. Man was evolved from an ancestor that was probably arboreal.
