ancestress vs ascendant

ancestress and ascendant both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
ancestress	Yes	No	No	No
ascendant	Yes	Yes	No	No

As nouns, ascendant is a hypernym of ancestress; that is, ascendant is a word with a broader meaning than ancestress:

ancestress: a woman ancestor
ascendant: someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)

Other hypernyms of ancestress include ancestor, antecedent, ascendent, root.

ancestress (noun)	ascendant (noun)
a woman ancestor	someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
	position or state of being dominant or in control

ancestress (adjective)	ascendant (adjective)
	tending or directed upward
	most powerful or important or influential