progenitor

CEFRC1

/pɹəʊˈd͡ʒɛn.ɪ.tə/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    An early ancestor or person who started a family or idea.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A person from whom one or more people (dynasty, tribe, nation…) are descended.

Examples

  • Our progenitor was a preeminent rabbi in Lodz.

  • The progenitor of the human race was named Tom.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
1
Synonyms
2

Also pronounced

  • /pɹoʊˈd͡ʒɛn.ɪ.tɚ/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. An ancestral form of a species.

  2. A forefather, any of a person's direct ancestors.

  3. A predecessor of something, especially if also a precursor or model.

More examples

In context

  • Abraham, alias Ibrahim, is the presumed progenitor of both the Jewish and Arab peoples.

  • Are neural progenitor cells infected by Zika virus?

  • ARPANET was the progenitor of the Internet.

Synonyms

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Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English progenitour, from Anglo-Norman progenitour, Middle French progeniteur (Modern French progéniteur), and their etymon Latin prōgenitor, from prōgenitus, perfect participle of prōgignere (“to beget”), itself from prō- (“forth”) + gignere (“to beget”). By surface analysis, pro- (“prior, fore-”) + genitor.