FOREBEAR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does forebear mean? 

• FOREBEAR (noun)
  The noun FOREBEAR has 1 sense:

1. a person from whom you are descended

  Familiarity information: FOREBEAR used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FOREBEAR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A person from whom you are descended

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

forbear; forebear

Hypernyms ("forebear" is a kind of...):

ancestor; antecedent; ascendant; ascendent; root (someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "forebear"):

grandparent (a parent of your father or mother)

great grandparent (a parent of your grandparent)

 Context examples 

It was a token that he was harking back through his own life to the lives of his forebears; for he was a civilized dog, an unduly civilized dog, and of his own experience knew no trap and so could not of himself fear it.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)