Word · Frequency #14442
forebears
祖先；祖宗
forebears is the plural of forebear.
a person from whom you are descended
- 1.
An ancestor.
祖先。
- 2.
a person from whom you are descended
你的祖先
祖先。；你的祖先；祖先；祖宗
In use
My forebear came to this country in the 1800s and started a small farm.
She often tells stories about her forebears who were skilled carpenters.
The museum displays tools that belonged to our town's early forebears.
sb's forebears
forebear 常用复数，指整个家族的祖先；单数形式较少见。
My forebears emigrated from China in the 19th century.
我的祖先在19世纪从中国移居国外。
a forebear of sb
该结构后接人，表示某人的祖先；forebear 比 ancestor 更正式，略带书面语色彩。
She is a forebear of the current president.
她是现任总统的一位祖先。
Common mistakes
I must forebear from eating sweets.
Connections
Collocations
- our forebears
- 我们的祖先
- Our forebears crossed the ocean in search of a better life.我们的祖先横渡大洋，寻找更好的生活。
- distant forebears
- 远祖
- This custom was passed down from our distant forebears.这一习俗是从我们的远祖传下来的。
- human forebears
- 人类祖先
- Early human forebears used simple stone tools.早期人类祖先使用简单的石器。
- honor one's forebears
- 纪念祖先
- Each autumn they hold a ceremony to honor their forebears.每年秋天，他们都会举行仪式纪念祖先。
Synonyms
- ancestor
- 祖先；家族血统中的先辈，最通用且中性 · 与 forebear 基本同义，使用最广泛；可指直系或旁系祖先，口语和书面语皆可。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
把 forebear 拆成 fore（在前）+ bear（生育）：在前头生育你的人，就是祖先。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：家谱与家族史叙述、历史或正式书面语 forebear 是比较正式、偏书面的词，通常用于家谱、家族史或正式文字中；日常口语里更常说 ancestor。
Pronunciation & Spelling
与 forebear 的词尾 -bear（/bɛr/）同韵的词：bear、bare 都发 /bɛr/；wear、pear、tear（撕破）、there 等的重读元音都是 /ɛr/，与 /bɛr/ 押韵。注意：tear 作名词“眼泪”时读 /tɪr/；forbear（动词，意为“克制”或“忍耐”）是拼写相近的另一词，重音在后：/fɔrˈbɛr/，而 forebear 重音在前：/ˈfɔrˌbɛr/。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.