ancestress
Grandmother, perhaps earlier
An ancestress is a female ancestor—a woman from whom one is descended.
The word appears in genealogical contexts and historical writing where the sex of the forebear matters: Her ancestress came to America on the Mayflower.
The term is old-fashioned; ancestor now serves for both sexes.
Study of family descent
- progenitorAncestor or originator
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
- descentDownward slope or lineage
- pedigreeRecord of descent
forebear · matrilineage · kinship · clan · dynasty · roots · origin · predecessor
Female institutional supervisor
- dowagerTitled widow of nobility
- chieftainessFemale head of tribe
- wisewomanFemale folk healer
- elderSenior figure of authority
grandmother · great-grandmother · custodian · guardian · sibyl
Long-established customs passed down
- heirloomsObjects passed through family lines
- legacyWhat's passed down
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
birthright · patrimony · relics · artifacts · culture · ethnology · history · roots
First to forge ahead
- groundbreakerInnovator, first to act
- founderOne who begins something
- forerunnerOne that comes before
- pathfinderOne who discovers routes
originator · revolutionary · reformer · visionary · changemaker · innovator · vanguard · predecessor
genealogy
Study of family descent
- progenitorAncestor or originator
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
- descentDownward slope or lineage
pedigree · forebear · matrilineage · kinship · clan · dynasty · roots · origin · predecessor · antecedent
matron
Female institutional supervisor
- dowagerTitled widow of nobility
- chieftainessFemale head of tribe
- wisewomanFemale folk healer
elder · grandmother · great-grandmother · custodian · guardian · sibyl
traditions
Long-established customs passed down
- heirloomsObjects passed through family lines
- legacyWhat's passed down
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
folklore · birthright · patrimony · relics · artifacts · culture · ethnology · history · roots · inheritance
trailblazer
First to forge ahead
- groundbreakerInnovator, first to act
- founderOne who begins something
- forerunnerOne that comes before
pathfinder · originator · revolutionary · reformer · visionary · changemaker · innovator · vanguard · predecessor
- female ancestorsmother, grandmother, grandmothers, great-grandmother, great-grandmothers
- Matriarchsmatriarch, grandmother, grandma, granny, great-grandmother
- matriarchicmatriarch, clan mother, chieftess
- family eldersgrandma, grandpa, grandfather, grandmother, grandparent
- matrilineal kinshipmother's line, maternal line, female lineage, matriarch, clan mother
ancestressancestor
Predecessor in lineage
forefather · patriarch · progenitor · forebear · grandfather
ancestressdescendant
Person from earlier generations
daughter · granddaughter · great-granddaughter · heiress · offspring