E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Forbears.
Ancestors, predecessors—i.e. those born before the present generation. (Anglo-Saxon, fór-béran.)
1
“My name is Græme, so please you,—Roland Græme, whose forbears were designated of Heathergill, in the Debateable Land.”—Sir W. Scott: The Abbot, chap. xviii.
