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Synonyms

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.

ancestry British  
/ ˈænsɛstrɪ /

noun

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

  2. ancestors collectively

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ancestry

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Instead of processing it on CODIS, they used another part of the DNA to search for potential relatives of the unknown killer in ancestry databases.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

The reintroduction follows a "back-breeding" programme launched in 2017 after scientists discovered tortoises carrying ancestry of the Floreana giant tortoise on nearby Isabela island.

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2026

He played at the field hockey World Cup for his native South Africa, but holds an Italian passport now through his ancestry.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

Many citizens of the former U.S.S.R., especially Belarusian citizens, enjoy special benefits in Poland if they manage to prove Polish ancestry.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

Having German ancestry did not mean you liked the Nazis, of course.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.