adj
ancestral
an-SEHS-tuhr-uhl
adj
1
Belonging to, inherited from, or associated with one's ancestors.
"The family returned to their ancestral home in Sicily."
"He still speaks the ancestral language of his grandparents."
How to Use Ancestral
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishDescribes anything passed down from, or connected to, earlier generations of a family.
Common pairings
ancestral home
ancestral land
ancestral lineage
ancestral roots
Word Forms
ancestrals plural
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The family returned to their _____ home in Sicily.
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman ancestrel, built on ancestre ("ancestor") plus the adjective ending -al.