Meaning
ancestor, forefather
- an ancestor or progenitor, especially a distant one
- a grandfather or forebear (archaic)
In a sentence
Conserva con orgoglio le memorie e i ritratti dei propri avi.
He proudly preserves the memoirs and portraits of his ancestors.
La tenuta apparteneva a un suo illustre avo del Settecento.
The estate belonged to an illustrious ancestor of his from the eighteenth century.
Quali tradizioni tramandate dagli avi sono ancora vive oggi?
Which traditions passed down by ancestors are still alive today?
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| avo | masculine · singular |
| avi | masculine · plural |
Usage notes
- Literary: rarely heard in everyday speech, where antenato is preferred.
- Most commonly encountered in the plural: gli avi ('the ancestors').