progenitor

noun

pro·​gen·​i·​tor prō-ˈje-nə-tər How to pronounce progenitor (audio)
prə-
1
a
: an ancestor in the direct line : forefather
b
: a biologically ancestral form
2
: precursor, originator
progenitors of socialist ideasThe Times Literary Supplement (London)
progenitor cells

Examples of progenitor in a Sentence

the progenitors of modern art wild cats that were the progenitors of the house cat
Recent Examples on the Web The baby black hole would produce jets of highly energetic particles moving near the speed of light, powerful enough to pierce through the remains of the progenitor star, emitting X-rays and gamma rays. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 22 June 2023 The case for a neutron star grew as further analysis revealed SN 1987A’s progenitor had likely been a blue supergiant star about 18 times the mass of our sun—heavy but still too light to easily form a black hole. Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2024 Before people saw them as something like a progenitor for theatrically oddball outfits like the Flaming Lips and Animal Collective. Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 24 Jan. 2024 That was also the year that Lear, then a 9-year-old Jewish American boy growing up in Connecticut, experienced the awakening of his own social consciousness, coming across a broadcast from the antisemitic Father Charles Coughlin (considered a progenitor of hate radio). Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Dec. 2023 There’s an à-la-carte menu, and a shop-the-pantry conceit that harks back to the whole dinner-in-a-deli vibe of its Roman progenitor. Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2023 Winning the Musical Influence Award are hip-hop progenitor DJ Kool Herc and the late Link Wray. Matthew Strauss, Pitchfork, 2 Nov. 2023 Unlike, say, East London’s Shoreditch, or its spiritual progenitor, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the town isn’t — at least not yet — a place for trust-funders or tech bros hoping to pass for bohemians. Nancy Hass, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2023 From sine qua non of American psychedelia, to folk-rock deity, jam band progenitor, disco Dead and Top 40 sensation, there was seemingly no pivot the band couldn’t navigate in its 30 years. Erin Osmon, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'progenitor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English progenitour, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin prōgenitor "individual from whom a person or family is descended, ancestor," agentive derivative of prōgignere "to produce as offspring, bring into being, give rise to" (from prō- pro- entry 2 + gignere "to bring into being, beget, give birth to"), after genitor "father, parent, originator," going back to Indo-European *ǵenh1- "engender, beget" + *-tor/*-tōr, agent suffix, from which also Greek genétōr "father, begetter, ancestor," Sanskrit janitar-, janitá "father, progenitor" — more at kin entry 1

Note: Alternatively genitor has been explained as a new formation based on genitus, past participle of gignere. The older and still somewhat more attractive view sees genitus as the new formation, based on the perfect genuī or on genitor itself, after the connection with the original verbal adjective (g)nātus (going back to zero-grade *ǵn̥h1-to-) became weakened.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of progenitor was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near progenitor

Cite this Entry

“Progenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/progenitor. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

progenitor

noun
pro·​gen·​i·​tor prō-ˈjen-ət-ər, prə- How to pronounce progenitor (audio)
1
: an ancestor of an individual in a direct line of descent along which some or all of the ancestral genes could theoretically have passed
2
: a biologically ancestral form

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