站在頂端的是人
核心畫面的兩種讀法：往下分出去的可能是血脈，也可能是一整個領域的後人。
noun · C2
A person or animal from the past that a living person, family, people or species comes from.
祖先；原種
核心畫面
Think of the single figure at the top of a family tree, with every line on the page running down and out from that one point. Whatever sits at that point is a progenitor. The word keeps the shape of the tree and changes what is standing at the top: a forefather, the first person to have an idea, or an old machine that every later model branched from.
progenitor 的核心畫面可以想成「族譜最上面的那一個點」，整張紙上的線都從那裡往下、往外分出去。站在那個點上…更多收起
progenitor 的核心畫面可以想成「族譜最上面的那一個點」，整張紙上的線都從那裡往下、往外分出去。站在那個點上的，就是 progenitor。這個字保留了族譜的形狀，只換掉站在頂端的東西：可能是一位先祖，可能是最早想到某個點子的人，也可能是一台後來所有機型都從它分枝出去的舊機器。所以它跟「比較早」不一樣——重點是「後面的都從這裡來」。From the word’s history
From Latin prōgenitor, on prōgignere, to beget, from prō- (forth) plus gignere (to beget); into English through Anglo-Norman and Middle French. By parts, pro- plus genitor, the one who begets first.
依證據裡的詞源，progenitor 來自拉丁文 prōgenitor，底下是 prōgignere（生出），由 prō-（往前、在先）加 gignere（生）組成，再經盎格魯諾曼語和中古法文進入英文；拆字就是 pro-＋genitor，「先生下來的那一位」。族譜頂端那個點的畫面，字面上本來就在。
Wiktionary entry for progenitor (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:689122946), etymology_text supplied in the evidence packet
Two branches
站在頂端的是東西
樹的形狀不變，頂端換成一件物品：後來的版本都是從它長出來的。
noun · C2
An earlier thing that a later thing grew out of and was modelled on — a first version, such as an old network, machine or book form.
前身；雛形