DictionaryRoot: -el

Old French

-el

pertaining to

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A young man examines a framed, text-free family tree connecting his own portrait to portraits of his father and grandfather, with progressively older clothing styles making the earlier generations visible.

adjective

ancestral

an-SES-trul/ænˈsestrəl/

Relating to or inherited from ancestors.

Etymology

ancestrOld Frenchforebear

+alOld Frenchpertaining to

The “forebear” base becomes an adjective meaning “pertaining to forebears.” It connects what is described with the earlier generations of a family.

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