Ancestral Meaning
/ænˈsɛs.təɹ.əl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjOf, pertaining to, derived from, or possessed by, an ancestor or ancestors
nounAn ancestor or forbear.
Sentence Examples
They were erected to commemorate a certain event or to tell an ancestral legend.
Our ancestral home is in Tongli, Jiangsu.
A mirror is better than an entire row of ancestral portraits.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
They visited their ____ village in Ireland to learn about their roots.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The family traveled to visit their ____ home in the small village.
Word Origin & History
From Anglo-Norman ancestrel, from ancestre (“ancestor”), equivalent to ancestor + -al.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It seems that people with an ancestral history of enduring famines develop a tendency to store more body fat, becoming overfat even when they aren’t overweight."
— 2025 June 17, Shane Duquette, Marco Walker-Ng, “What is Skinny Fat? And How to Know If You Are”, in Bony to Beastly, archived from the original on 15 Aug 2025:
"Some big cheese bein' grought back to his native island to get planted with his ancestrals."
— 1955, Harry Chandler Elliott, Reprieve from Paradise, page 147:
"I thought of the strange two-dimensional world these forebearing ancestrals had to live in."
— 2006, Scott Dikkers, Peter Hilleren, Destined for Destiny, page 23:
"Moreover, the superior ancestrals associated with Plymouth Rock (the Pilgrim Fathers) and Mt. Rushmore (four U.S. presidents) function in the same way as premodern superior ancestrals the world over: as superhuman beings, they preserve and maintain the nation. However, unlike superior ancestrals in pre-modern societies, these ancestors do not evolve out of an actual kin group, and therefore one does not have to be a lineal descendant to approach them."
— 2007, Michael R. Ott, The Future of Religion: Toward a Reconciled Society, page 145:
"He considered that the local custom permitted a sister's son to inherit in default of near male ancestrals."
— 1868, The Punjab Record - Volume 3, page 58:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
They visited their ____ village in Ireland to learn about their roots.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The family traveled to visit their ____ home in the small village.