ancestor

先祖、祖先

祖父母や曽祖父母など、自分より前の世代に生きた家族。

やさしい英語で： A person in your family who lived before you, such as a grandparent or great-grandparent.

• My ancestors lived in Italy.
• She found her ancestor’s name in an old record.
• Do you know where your ancestors came from?

使い方： ancestor of someone (He was an ancestor of the current owner.)

類義語： forebear, forefather

反対語： descendant

よく使う表現： distant ancestor, common ancestor, ancestor of someone

祖先

後の生物種が進化して生まれるもととなった、昔の生物や種。

やさしい英語で： An earlier living thing or species from which a later species developed.

• These species share a common ancestor.
• Scientists studied the ancestor of modern whales.
• The fossils may belong to an early ancestor of birds.

使い方： ancestor of something (This creature was an ancestor of modern horses.)

反対語： descendant

よく使う表現： common ancestor, extinct ancestor, ancestor of something

原型、前身

後の形が発展して生まれるもととなった、以前の形。

やさしい英語で： An earlier form of something from which a later form developed.

• This machine is an ancestor of the computer.
• The design has several earlier ancestors.
• That simple cart was the ancestor of today’s delivery van.

使い方： ancestor of something (The device was an ancestor of the modern camera.)

類義語： predecessor, forerunner

よく使う表現： early ancestor, direct ancestor, ancestor of something