forefather
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English
Etymology
From Middle English forefader, forfader, vorvader, from Old English fōrefæder (“forefather”), but possibly also merged with Old Norse forfaðir. Equivalent to fore- + father. Compare Dutch voorvader (“forefather”), German Vorvater, Vorfahr (“forefather”), Danish forfader (“forefather”), Swedish förfader (“forefather”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: fôʹfä'thə, IPA(key): /ˈfɔːˌfɑːðə/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - (General American) enPR: fôrʹfä'thər, IPA(key): /ˈfɔɹˌfɑːðɚ/
Noun
forefather (plural forefathers)
- An ancestor.
- 1907 August, Robert W Chambers, chapter II, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
- His forefathers had been, as a rule, professional men—physicians and lawyers; his grandfather died under the walls of Chapultepec Castle while twisting a tourniquet for a cursing dragoon; an uncle remained indefinitely at Malvern Hill; an only brother at Montauk Point having sickened in the trenches before Santiago.
- A cultural ancestor; one who originated an idea or tradition.
Translations
ancestor
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cultural ancestor