A founding ancestor or the original progenitor of a family or group.
Combines 'gene-' from Latin 'genus' (kind, race) and Greek '-arch' from 'archein' (to rule, begin). It describes someone who rules or begins a generation line.
This word is the ancestor of 'monarch' (mono = one ruler) and 'patriarch' (pater = father ruler)—it's like the genetic version of a ruler, someone who literally starts a dynasty!
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