1. the founder of a family (Freq. 1) - keep the faith of our forefathers • Syn: father, sire • Derivationally related forms: sire (for: sire) • Hypernyms: ancestor, ascendant, ascendent, antecedent, root • Hyponyms: patriarch 2. person from an earlier time who contributed to the tradition shared by some group - our forefathers brought forth a great nation • Hypernyms: predecessor
