progenitor
Syllables: pro·ge·ni·tor/pɹəʊˈd͡ʒɛn.ɪ.tə/US/pɹoʊˈd͡ʒɛn.ɪ.tɚ/
progenitor noun: a forefather, any of a person's direct ancestors.
Noun
progenitor (plural progenitors)
- A forefather, any of a person's direct ancestors.
- Synonyms:
- ancestor, forefather
- A person from whom one or more people (dynasty, tribe, nation…) are descended.
- Abraham, alias Ibrahim, is the presumed progenitor of both the Jewish and Arab peoples.
- An ancestral form of a species.
- A predecessor of something, especially if also a precursor or model.
- ARPANET was the progenitor of the Internet.
- Are neural progenitor cells infected by Zika virus?
- Someone who originates something.
- A founder.
progenitor meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
progenitor in Hindi
- any of a person's direct ancestors
- पूर्वज pūrvaj
- an individual from which (a) people(s) descend
- पुरखा purkhā
- a predecessor of something
- पूर्वज pūrvaj
- someone who originates something
- जनक janak, जन्मदाता janmadātā
progenitor in Tamil
- பெற்றோர், முன்னோர், மூதாதையர், நேர் மூதாதையர்
progenitor in Marathi
- progenitor, first ancestor
- मूळ mūḷ
progenitor in Urdu
- جد, سلف
More languagesFewer languages
- progenitor in Bengali
- পূর্বপুরুষ, আদিপিতা
- progenitor in Malayalam
- മൃഗം, ചെടി ഉദ്ഭവിച്ചത്, പൂർവ്വികൻ
- progenitor in Sanskrit
- जनन jánana, जनक janaka, जन्मन् jánman
- progenitor in Arabic
- سَلَف salaf
Examples of progenitor in a sentence
- The moong bean was domesticated in India, where its progenitor (Vigna radiata subsp. sublobata) occurs wild.
- The pouched metatherians, the progenitors of marsupials, used to be common all over North America.
- Kapila's father was Kardama Prajapati, one of the early progenitors of the human race.
Synonyms of progenitor
Forms of progenitor
| plural | progenitors |
|---|---|
| alternative form (obsolete) | progenitour |
Origin of progenitor
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.
Words formed from progenitor
Phrases with progenitor
Questions about progenitor
- What does progenitor mean?
- Progenitor means a forefather, any of a person's direct ancestors.
- What is progenitor in Hindi?
- Progenitor in Hindi is पूर्वज (pūrvaj), पुरखा (purkhā), जनक (janak). See Progenitor meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is progenitor?
- Progenitor is a noun.
- How do you pronounce progenitor?
- Progenitor is pronounced /pɹəʊˈd͡ʒɛn.ɪ.tə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of progenitor?
- The plural of progenitor is progenitors.
Words near progenitor in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: progenitor (page history and authors); progenitor (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); मूळ (Marathi) (page history and authors); progenitor (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); progenitor (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); progenitor (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); जनक (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-progenitor.wav.
Cite this entry: “progenitor.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/progenitor. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.