ancestor
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ancestor
A person from an earlier generation from whom one is descended; a male forefather. The plural 'die Ahnen' refers to ancestors in general.
Mein berühmtester Ahne war ein Entdecker im 18. Jahrhundert.
My most famous ancestor was an explorer in the 18th century.
'Der Ahne' (ancestor) belongs to the n-declension. This means that it takes the ending '-n' in all cases except the nominative singular.
Er sprach mit Stolz von seinem Ahnen.
He spoke with pride about his ancestor.
In practice, the plural form 'die Ahnen' (ancestors) is usually used. It refers to all ancestors, both men and women, and is much more common than the masculine singular form.
Meine Ahnen stammen ursprünglich aus Italien.
My ancestors originally come from Italy.
The word 'Ahne' (ancestor) or 'Ahnen' (ancestors) is very often found in connection with family history. Typical terms in this context are 'Ahnenforschung' (genealogical research) or 'Stammbaum' (family tree).
Durch Ahnenforschung hat er viel über seine Familie gelernt.
Through genealogical research, he learned a lot about his family.
ancestor
Both words refer to a person from one's own line of descent. Vorfahre is the neutral term and is usually more appropriate in everyday language. Ahne often sounds elevated, historical, or reverential and is especially suitable when the earlier generation is presented in a solemn way.
Im Museum wird ein Ahne der Familie als bedeutende historische Persönlichkeit gewürdigt.
The museum honors an ancestor of the family as an important historical figure.
In unserem Stammbaum ist ein Vorfahre aus dem 18. Jahrhundert verzeichnet.
Our family tree records an ancestor from the eighteenth century.
