great-grandmother
Noun: The mother of one's grandparent. A great-grandmother is a female ancestor two generations above a grandparent, or three generations above oneself.
- (The mother of my grandmother or grandfather.)
- (A direct female ancestor two generations above the grandparent level.)
- (A foremother from the third generation upward.)
"to have a great-grandmother who...": to possess a specific ancestor with notable qualities.
- He has a great-grandmother who was a pioneer in education. (His ancestor was a trailblazer in that field.)
"great-grandmother's recipe": a traditional method or formula passed down from that ancestor.
- We still use my great-grandmother's recipe for apple pie. (A family culinary tradition from three generations ago.)
Great-grandfather (n): the father of one's grandparent.
- My great-grandfather fought in World War I. (The male equivalent of great-grandmother.)
Great-grandparent (n): a parent of a grandparent; can refer to either a great-grandmother or great-grandfather.
- We are researching our great-grandparents' immigration records. (Both ancestors at that generational level.)
Great-great-grandmother (n): the mother of one's great-grandparent; four generations above oneself.
- Her great-great-grandmother was born in the 1800s. (A more distant female ancestor.)
- Foremother: a female ancestor, especially one from an earlier generation.
- Ancestress: a female ancestor (formal or literary term).
"to remember one's great-grandmother": to recall or honour a distant ancestor, often in the context of family history.
- We remember our great-grandmother every year on her birthday. (We pay tribute to her memory.)
"like great-grandmother's china": something very old, fragile, or cherished.
- That vase is like great-grandmother's china — handle it with care. (It is a precious antique.)