An ancestor in the direct line.

synonym: primogenitor.

Roget 166: paternity; parentage; consanguinity etc. 11.    parent; father, sire, dad, papa, paterfamilias, abba^†; genitor, progenitor, procreator; ancestor; grandsire^†, grandfather; great-grandfather; fathership^†, fatherhood; mabap^†.    house, stem, trunk, tree, stock, stirps, pedigree, lineage, line, family, tribe, sept, race, clan; genealogy, descent, extraction, birth, ancestry; forefathers, forbears, patriarchs.    motherhood, maternity; mother, dam, mamma, materfamilias [Lat.], grandmother.    ... show more

Dutch: voorloper, stamvorm, voorouder, patriarch, voorvader, stamvader
Polish: protoplasta