progenitor
noun
Simple meaning
A forefather, any of a person's direct ancestors.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
prohjehnihterSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
pɹoʊˈdʒɛnɪtɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A forefather, any of a person's direct ancestors.
A person from whom one or more people (dynasty, tribe, nation…) are descended.
biology
An ancestral form of a species.
figuratively
A predecessor of something, especially if also a precursor or model.
figuratively
Someone who originates something.
A founder.
Word at a Glance
- Frequency
- Rare
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.