First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
progenitor
noun pro·gen·i·tor \prō-ˈje-nə-tər, prə-\
: someone who first thinks of or does something : a person who begins something
: something that is a model for something else : something that begins the development of something else
biology : a person or animal in the past that is related to a person or animal living now
Full Definition of PROGENITOR
1
a : an ancestor in the direct line : forefather b : a biologically ancestral form
2
: precursor, originator <progenitors of socialist ideas — Times Literary Supplement> <progenitor cells>
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Origin of PROGENITOR
Middle English, from Anglo-French progenitour, from Latin progenitor, from progignere to beget, from pro- forth + gignere to beget — more at kin
Related to PROGENITOR
- Synonyms
- father, forebear (also forbear), forebearer, forefather, grandfather, primogenitor, ancestor
- Antonyms
- descendant (also descendent)
Other Biology Terms
Medical Dictionary
progenitor
noun pro·gen·i·tor \prō-ˈjen-ət-ər, prə-\
Medical Definition of PROGENITOR
1
: an ancestor of an individual in a direct line of descent along which some or all of the ancestral genes could theoretically have passed
2
: a biologically ancestral form
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