(fem 阴性作 ancestress / -trIs; -trIs/) any of the people from whom sb is descended, esp those more remote than his grandparents; forefather 祖先; 祖宗: His ancestors had come to England as refugees. 他的祖先来到英国的时候是难民. Cf 参看 descendant (descend). 
(fig 比喻) early form of a machine or structure which later became more developed; forerunner 原型（某机器或结构的早期形式）; 先驱: The ancestor of the modern bicycle was called a penny farthing. 现代自行车的原型叫做‘前轮大後轮小的自行车’.> ancestral / An5sestrEl; An`sZstrEl/ adj belonging to or inherited from one's ancestors 祖先的; 祖传的: her ancestral home 她的祖居.
ancestry / 5AnsestrI; `AnsZstrI/ n line of ancestors 世系: a distinguished ancestry 名门望族.