noun
forbear
A person from an earlier generation of one's family.
This portrait shows a forbear of mine in military uniform.
Etymology
The compound identifies someone who came or existed before the present generation. It is a variant spelling of forebear, the ancestor word.
More examples
- Several of her forbears settled in Ohio.
- He shares a name with a forbear on his mother's side.
- We keep letters that our forbears wrote to their children.
Forms
forbear · forbears
Similar words
- ancestor
- The more common term for someone in an earlier family generation.
- forefather
- Usually identifies a male ancestor rather than either sex.