ancestry

American  

[an-ses-tree, -suh-stree] / ˈæn sɛs tri, -sə stri /

noun

PLURAL

ancestries

1. family or ancestral descent; lineage.

   Synonyms:

   stock , genealogy , pedigree

2. honorable or distinguished descent.

   famous by title and ancestry.

3. a series of ancestors.

   His ancestry settled Utah.

   Synonyms:

   line , family

4. the inception or origin of a phenomenon, object, idea, or style.

5. the history or developmental process of a phenomenon, object, idea, or style.

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ancestry British  

/ ˈænsɛstrɪ /

noun

1. lineage or descent, esp when ancient, noble, or distinguished

2. ancestors collectively

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Etymology

Origin of ancestry

1300–50; Middle English, equivalent to ancestre ancestor + -y ³; replacing Middle English aunce ( s ) trie < Anglo-French

Example Sentences

The team reports that post-domestication wolf ancestry occurs across a broad range of breeds, from the large Shiloh shepherd to the tiny chihuahua.

From Science Daily

Few know her real name, María Harfuch Hidalgo, whose paternal surname reflects her Lebanese ancestry.

From Los Angeles Times

He said he never meant to intentionally mislead people, believing that he genuinely had Native American ancestry.

From BBC

Department of Education alleging that Berkeley public schools ignored reports of bullying and harassment of Jewish students on the basis of their ethnicity, shared ancestry and national origin.

From Los Angeles Times

Both the president and many of his key advisers and followers remain fascinated, if not obsessed, with the continent from which nearly all white Americans derive their ancestry.

From Salon

Related Words

• ancestor
• antecedent
• descent
• extraction
• forebear
• genealogy
• heritage
• lineage
• origin
• parentage