progenitor

English

WOTD – 5 July 2009

Alternative forms

• progenitour (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English, from Middle French progeniteur (Modern French progéniteur), from Latin progenitor, from progenitus, perfect participle of progignere (“to beget”), itself from pro- (“forth”) + gignere (“to beget”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɹəʊˈdʒɛn.ɪ.tə/, /pɹəˈdʒɛn.ə.tə/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

• IPA^(key): /pɹoʊˈdʒɛn.ɪ.tɚ/, /pɹəˈdʒɛn.ə.tɚ/

Noun

progenitor (plural progenitors)

1. A forefather, any of a person's direct ancestors.

   Synonyms: ancestor, forefather

   Coordinate terms: progenitrix, foremother

2. An individual 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.

3. (biology) An ancestral form of a species.
4. (figuratively) 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?

5. (figuratively) Someone who originates something.
6. A founder.

Derived terms

• legendary progenitor

Related terms

• progeny

Translations

any of a person's direct ancestors

• Bulgarian: предшественик (bg) m (predšestvenik)
• Catalan: progenitor (ca) m
• Cebuano: giliwatan
• Crimean Tatar: ecdat
• Czech: předek (cs) m, praotec m
• Danish: forfader c
• Dutch: voorouder (nl) m, voorvader (nl) m
• Finnish: esi-isä (fi), kantaisä
• German: Ahn (de) m, Vorfahr (de) m, Vorfahre m
• Greek: πρόγονος (el) m (prógonos), γεννήτορας (el) m (gennítoras)

  Ancient: πρόγονος m (prógonos)

• Irish: sinsear m
• Latin: progenitor m
• Maori: uretū
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: stamfar (no) m

  Nynorsk: stamfar m

• Polish: przodek (pl)
• Portuguese: progenitor (pt) m
• Romanian: strămoș (ro) m, străbun (ro) m, strămoașă (ro) f, străbună (ro) f
• Russian: прароди́тель (ru) m (prarodítelʹ), пре́док (ru) m (prédok)
• Scottish Gaelic: gineadair m
• Serbo-Croatian: прародитељ m
• Spanish: progenitor (es) m or f
• Turkish: ata (tr), cet (tr)

an individual from which (a) people(s) descend

• Bulgarian: прародител (bg) m (praroditel)
• Cebuano: giliwatan
• Danish: stamfader c
• Dutch: patriarch (nl) m, stamvader (nl) m
• German: Stammvater (de) m, Urahn (de) m, Vorfahr (de) m, Vorfahre m
• Greek: πρόγονος (el) m (prógonos), πατριάρχης (el) m (patriárchis)

  Ancient: πρόγονος m (prógonos)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: sinsear m
• Maori: uretū, tipuna
• Portuguese: progenitor (pt) m
• Turkish: cet (tr), dede (tr)

an ancestral form of a species

• Bulgarian: предшественик (bg) m (predšestvenik)
• Dutch: stamvorm
• German: Vorfahr (de) m, Vorfahre m
• Greek: πρόγονος (el) m (prógonos)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: sinsear m
• Turkish: ata (tr), cet (tr)

a predecessor of something

• Bulgarian: предше́ственик (bg) m (predšéstvenik)
• Czech: předchůdce (cs) m
• Dutch: voorloper (nl) m, voorafbeelding m
• Finnish: edeltäjä (fi)
• German: Vorläufer (de) m
• Greek: πρόγονος (el) m (prógonos)
• Polish: poprzednik (pl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: progenitor (pt) m
• Romanian: predecesor (ro) m or n, precursor (ro) m or n
• Russian: предте́ча (ru) m or f (predtéča), предше́ственник (ru) m (predšéstvennik)
• Scottish Gaelic: ro-theachdaire m
• Serbo-Croatian: претеча m
• Turkish: öncü (tr), öncü (tr)

someone who originates something

• Bulgarian: основател (bg) m (osnovatel)
• Czech: zakladatel (cs) m
• Danish: stifter c, grundlægger c
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} geestelijke vader m , stichter (nl) m, grondlegger (nl) m
• Finnish: isä (fi)
• German: Erzeuger (de) m, Erzeugerin (de) f
• Greek: γεννήτορας (el) m (gennítoras)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: prekursor (pl), pomysłodawca (pl)
• Russian: созда́тель (ru) m (sozdátelʹ), основа́тель (ru) m (osnovátelʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: neach-stèidheachaidh m
• Serbo-Croatian: оснивач m, творац m
• Turkish: üretici (tr)

founder — see founder

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} auteur (fr) m, ^{(please verify)} patriarche (fr) m, ^{(please verify)} précurseur (fr) m, ^{(please verify)} ancètre m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} progenitore (it) m, ^{(please verify)} precursore (it) m

Further reading

• progenitor on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• troopering

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Latin

Etymology

From pro- +‎ genitor.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /proːˈɡe.ni.tor/, [proːˈɡɛnɪt̪ɔr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /proˈd͡ʒe.ni.tor/, [proˈd͡ʒɛːnit̪or]

Noun

prōgenitor m (genitive prōgenitōris); third declension

1. (rare) ancestor, progenitor

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	prōgenitor	prōgenitōrēs
genitive	prōgenitōris	prōgenitōrum
dative	prōgenitōrī	prōgenitōribus
accusative	prōgenitōrem	prōgenitōrēs
ablative	prōgenitōre	prōgenitōribus
vocative	prōgenitor	prōgenitōrēs

Coordinate terms

• prōgenitrīx

Descendants

• Catalan: progenitor
• French: progéniteur
• Galician: proxenitor
• Italian: progenitore
• Portuguese: progenitor
• Spanish: progenitor

References

• “progenitor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “progenitor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• progenitor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

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Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin prōgenitor.

Noun

progenitor m (plural progenitores, feminine progenitora, feminine plural progenitoras)

1. progenitor (any of a person’s direct ancestors)
2. (figuratively) progenitor (a predecessor of something)

Further reading

• “progenitor”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin prōgenitor.

Noun

progenitor m (plural progenitores, feminine progenitora, feminine plural progenitoras)

1. progenitor

Further reading

• “progenitor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28