forebear

noun

fore·​bear ˈfȯr-ˌber 

variants or less commonly forbear

: ancestor, forefather

also : precursor

—usually used in plural

His forebears fought in the American Civil War.

Did you know?

Forebear (also spelled, less commonly, as forbear) was first used by our ancestors in the days of Middle English. Fore- means "coming before," just as in forefather, and -bear means "one that is." This -bear is not to be confused with the -bear in the unrelated verb forbear, which comes from Old English beran, meaning "to bear or carry." The -bear in the noun forebear is a combination of be-, from the verb be (or, more specifically, from been, an old dialect variant of be), and -ar, a form of the suffix -er, which we append to verbs to denote one that performs a specified action. In this case the "action" is simply existing or being—in other words, -bear implies one who is a "be-er."

Synonyms

• ancestor
• father
• forebearer
• forefather
• grandfather
• primogenitor
• progenitor

Examples of forebear in a Sentence

His forebears fought in the American Civil War.

his forebears came to America on the Mayflower

Recent Examples on the Web

But Mayflower descendants who study their forebears are an especially persistent lot who had to find the right documents to confirm their lineage with the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, the international umbrella organization that has strict rules about acceptable paperwork. —Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 27 Nov. 2024

This culminates in a Satanic-possession plot that eschews the pseudo-realism of Longlegs’s detective-thriller forebears. —Beatrice Loayza, Vulture, 12 July 2024

Think about why your forebears left their country of origin. —Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 19 Nov. 2024

The tour group is sitting around a table having dinner and reminiscing about their forebears’ resilience, not their suffering. —Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 1 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English (Scots), from fore- + -bear (from been to be)

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

forebear

noun

fore·​bear

variants also forbear

ˈfōr-ˌba(ə)r,

ˈfȯr-,

-ˌbe(ə)r

: ancestor sense 1, forefather