ENGLISH
REFERENCE

ancestral

adj.
C1 Advanced US //ænˈsɛstɹəɫ// UK //ænsˈɛstɹəl// an·ces·tral

adj. coming from your family or ancestors in the past. You use it to describe traditions, land, or traits passed down through generations.

adj. relating to or derived from an ancestor or ancestors; inherited from a previous generation.


SIMPLE

The village kept its ancestral traditions alive.

CONTEXTUAL

She returned to her ancestral home to trace her family roots.

COMPLEX

The legal dispute centered on the ancestral lands that had been held by the clan for centuries without formal title deeds.

Synonyms
Origin

From Anglo-Norman ancestrel, from ancestre (“ancestor”).

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