forefather

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)

1. ancestor
   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] 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.

2. cultural ancestor; one who originated an idea or tradition.

Translations

ancestor

• Armenian: նախահայր (hy) (naxahayr)
• Azerbaijani: ata-baba
• Bulgarian: предци (bg) pl (predci)
• Czech: předek (cs) m
• Danish: forfader c,ane (da) c
• Dutch: voorvader (nl) m
• Finnish: esi-isä (fi)
• French: aïeul (fr) m, ancêtre (fr) m
• German: Vorfahre m
• Greek:

  Ancient: γεννήτωρ m (gennḗtōr), προπάτωρ m (propátōr), φῡ́σᾱς m (phū́sās)

• Italian: avo (it) m, ascendente (it) m, antenato (it) m, progenitore (it) m
• Japanese: 前任者 (zenninsha)
• Maori: tipuna tāne, tupuna tāne
• Middle English: forfader, fornfader, forme fader
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: forfader (no) m, stamfar (no) m

  Nynorsk: forfar m, (old) forfader m, stamfar m

• Old Turkic: 𐰯𐰀 (apa)
• Plautdietsch: Väavoda m
• Polish: przodek (pl) m, antenat (pl) m (literary)
• Portuguese: antepassado (pt) m
• Russian: пре́док (ru) (prédok), прароди́тель (ru) m (prarodítelʹ), пра́щур (ru) m (práščur), праоте́ц (ru) m (praotéc)
• Spanish: ancestro (es) m, antepasado (es) m, ascendiente (es) m, predecesor (es) m
• Swedish: förfader (sv) c
• Tok Pisin: tumbuna, tambaran
• Turkish: ata (tr)
• Ukrainian: пре́док (uk) m (prédok), пра́щур (uk) m (práščur)
• Volapük: (male or female) büröletan (vo), (male) hibüröletan (vo)

cultural ancestor

• Bulgarian: предтеча (bg) m (predteča)
• Czech: praotec m