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Glite Dictionary
common progenitor

common progenitor

7.7
A shared ancestor that more than one species or group comes from
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : progenitor común
  • Researchers found that the various breeds of dogs descend from a common progenitor.

Examples

  • The AAL2 clade had a common progenitor that circulated 133.1 years ago (95% HPD 91.3-193.4 years), which has evolved into several different lineages.

    Academic text (2012)

  • The long trailing cloth is a visualization of the corporate group, the lineage itself, which includes all persons, living and departed, who trace their origin to a common progenitor.

    Academic text (1990)

  • It, all of it points to like these like a common ancestor, a common progenitor of this story.

  • Diversity had never completely separated life on Mars; co-genotypic bauplans, creatures having different forms but a common progenitor, had been the rule.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • All modern species of elephants share a common progenitor that lived millions of years ago.

  • Scientists believe that all flowering plants evolved from a common progenitor millions of years ago.

Synonyms

progenitor
vscommon progenitor
12 8.2

An early ancestor who starts a family line or idea

is a shared ancestor of multiple groups rather than a single family origin
foreparent
vscommon progenitor
1 9.3

A person in your family from long ago, like a grandparent

is specifically a shared ancestor for multiple groups rather than any predecessor
LCA
vscommon progenitor
  • Specialized
7.9

The most recent ancestor shared by two or more species

is any shared ancestor rather than specifically the most recent one
primogenitor
vscommon progenitor
  • Formal
9.9

An early relative in the direct family line, like a great-grandparent

is a shared ancestor without implying it is the earliest known one

Surface Forms

common progenitor singular
common progenitors plural

Morphology

common + progenitor

The meaning is directly compositional: 'common' (shared) + 'progenitor' (ancestor) yields 'a shared ancestor,' so the sense is transparently derivable from the parts. This combination follows a straightforward adjectival + noun pattern found across languages (e.g., 'common ancestor'), making it readily interpretable by a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

The noun common progenitor gives a simple image: progenitor is the first parent at the base of a family tree, and common shows that several branches come from that same one. So it means 'a shared ancestor' or 'original source' of different groups.