progenitor
noun
pro·gen·i·tor
prō-ˈje-nə-tər 
prə-
1
a
: an ancestor in the direct line : forefather
b
: a biologically ancestral form
2
: precursor, originator
progenitors of socialist ideas—
The Times Literary Supplement (London)
The Times Literary Supplement (London)progenitor cells
Synonyms
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
Burke, a veteran foreign correspondent for The Guardian, traces the intellectual progenitors of the modern ideas of jihad that inspired bin Laden and his followers.
—Hisham Melhem, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2015
While Bologna and Modena engaged in a friendly dispute over the paternity of Tortellini for centuries, the town of Castelfranco Emilia was declared its progenitor in the 1800s.
—Irene S. Levine, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024
Overall, Double Exposure honors players’ personal experience with its progenitor by making your past decisions reverberate in Max’s.
—Isaiah Colbert, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2024
But Gilmour, who joined psych-prog progenitors Pink Floyd two years after the band’s 1965 inception, proved vibrant and vital at his fourth show in Los Angeles and final evening of a three-night-stand at the Hollywood Bowl.
—Katherine Turman, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2024
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Hisham Melhem, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2015
While Bologna and Modena engaged in a friendly dispute over the paternity of Tortellini for centuries, the town of Castelfranco Emilia was declared its progenitor in the 1800s.
—Irene S. Levine, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024
Overall, Double Exposure honors players’ personal experience with its progenitor by making your past decisions reverberate in Max’s.
—Isaiah Colbert, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2024
But Gilmour, who joined psych-prog progenitors Pink Floyd two years after the band’s 1965 inception, proved vibrant and vital at his fourth show in Los Angeles and final evening of a three-night-stand at the Hollywood Bowl.
—Katherine Turman, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for progenitor
Dictionary Entries Near progenitor
Cite this Entry
“Progenitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/progenitor. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
progenitor
noun
pro·gen·i·tor
prō-ˈjen-ət-ər, prə-
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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