ancestry

ancestry, lineage, pedigree mean either one’s progenitors collectively or their quality or character as a whole. The words, however, are clearly distinguishable.

Ancestry in its most restricted use evokes the image of a family tree with its ramification by geometrical progression of branches or roots the further it is traced forward or backward

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only by the fusion of two parent cells can an offspring cell enjoy the advantages of joint heredity and pass on the traits of both ancestries— La Barre

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In broader use ancestry often suggests one’s progenitors in general, known or unknown, a cause of pride often, but sometimes of indifference or of shame

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no one is responsible for his ancestry, but his ancestry is to a certain extent responsible for his qualities

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Lineage stresses descent in a line; it evokes therefore the image of a list of the persons who in order of generation are descended from a single ancestor

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the evangelist Matthew traced the lineage of Jesus by each step from Abraham down

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lineage is reckoned through the mother; the Zuñi are matrilineal— Kardiner

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For this reason lineage is often used as the equivalent of race

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though of a lineage once abhorred— Wordsworth

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Pedigree is even more definite in its suggestions, for it implies a known and recorded ancestry that is typically distinguished or notable

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who proud of pedigree, is poor of purse— Pope

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the deference due to a man of pedigree— Gilbert

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The term is applied to the ancestry of persons, and to that of animals and plants propagated under controlled conditions.

Antonyms: descendants: posterity