fore·fa·ther /-ˌfɑðɚ/
 祖先


 Fore·fa·ther n. One who precedes another in the line of genealogy in any degree, but usually in a remote degree; an ancestor.
    Respecting your forefathers, you would have been taught to respect yourselves.   --Burke.
 Forefathers' Day, the anniversary of the day (December 21) on which the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts (1620). On account of a mistake in reckoning the change from Old Style to New Style, it has generally been celebrated on the 22d.

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 forefather
      n 1: the founder of a family; "keep the faith of our forefathers"
           [syn: father, sire]
      2: person from an earlier time who contributed to the tradition
         shared by some group; "our forefathers brought forth a
         great nation"