Oxford Dictionary English

forebear

noun
(also forbear) noun
BrE BrE//ˈfɔːbeə(r)//
; NAmE NAmE//ˈfɔːrber//
[usually plural] (formal or literary) Family background
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a person in your family who lived a long time ago synonym ancestor See related entries: Family background Word Originlate 15th cent.: from fore + bear, variant of obsolete beer ‘someone who exists’ (from be + -er).
See forebear in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: forebear
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