A Vocabulary Malfunction

[poliphilo]

It happens all the time- people saying "ancestor" when they mean "descendant" and "descendant" when they mean "ancestor". And no-one ever picks them up on it.

If things carry on like this the two words are going to become interchangeable synonyms for "person in (my) family tree" and that would be a pity.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

An ancestor is someone in the past of your bloodline. It could be your mother or father- but in common usage it generally means a person who's several generations back.

A descendant is someone in the future of your bloodline- child, grandchild, great-great grandchild etc.

[matrixmann]

Okay, forgot the future people...
At least it is known to me "ancestor" you use for someone far beyond your time and "descendant" you use for someone who is still close to you - where you can see the trail of blood.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Descendants don't have to be close. It's allowable to speak of people thousands of years in the future as "our descendants".

[matrixmann]

Hm, so maybe it's just my definition of usage.
As a foreigner you have to take a little more care of what pick you use, so there is no misunderstanding.