progenitor
n.n. the first person or thing from which something else develops. In biology, it is the original ancestor of a group of living things.
n. an ancestor from which a group of organisms or a specific lineage descends. Often used in evolutionary biology to describe the earliest form of a species or family.
The horse is the progenitor of many modern breeds.
Scientists are studying the progenitor of the modern fruit fly to understand how wings evolved over millions of years.
The discovery of the ancient fossil provided the first concrete evidence of the progenitor that eventually gave rise to the diverse family of primates we see today.
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.