ancestress, announcer, antecedent, ascendant, avant-garde, begetter, bellwether, buccinator, bushwhacker, explorer, forebear, forefather, foregoer, forerunner, front runner, frontiersman, fugleman, grandparent, groundbreaker, guide, harbinger, herald, innovator, lead runner, leader, messenger, parent, pathfinder, pioneer, point, precedent, precursor, predecessor, premise, primogenitor, procreator, progenitor, progenitress, progenitrix, prototype, scout, stormy petrel, trailblazer, trailbreaker, vanguard, vaunt-courier, voortrekker