rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryRoot: -tor
Latin

-tor

a person or thing that acts

Forms

  • -tor
  • -sor — An altered form in some Latin formations.

Origin

An inherited Latin ending for the performer of an action, with relatives in other Indo-European languages.

Note

Its English descendants name devices and forces as well as people.

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A simple branching visual showing an old apple tree as the source of several younger apple trees, connected by subtle branchlike arrows, ancestor/source relation clear, no text.
noun

progenitor

proh-JEN-ih-ter/prəʊˈdʒenɪtər/

An ancestor from which a line descends.

Etymology
proLatinbefore, forward; on behalf of
+genLatinbeget, bear, or produce
+itorLatina person or thing that acts

A progenitor is literally one who begets or produces forth, originally an ancestor or family founder. That relationship also supplies the broader sense of an original source from which something develops.

Full entry

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