lineage
1 Americannoun
noun
-
direct descent from an ancestor, esp a line of descendants from one ancestor
-
a less common word for derivation
noun
Etymology
Origin of lineage
1275–1325; line(al) + -age; replacing Middle English linage < Anglo-French; Old French lignage < Vulgar Latin *līneāticum. See line 1, -age
Explanation
The word lineage is used to describe everyone who descends from a particular ancestor. Mozart had six children, but none of them had children of their own, so the composer’s lineage ended after one generation. If you put an adjective like artistic or spiritual before lineage, it becomes clear you're talking about people who are related by ideas or attitude, not by blood. There are many composers, even today, who trace their musical lineage to Mozart, even though his actual lineage ended in the 19th century.
Vocabulary lists containing lineage
It's All in the Family
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
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Born a Crime
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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.
But the ideological and philosophical lineage of these people is not difficult to trace.
From Salon • Jun. 7, 2026
Ronaldinho, who played alongside Messi at the start of that golden era at Barcelona and won a Champions League with him, has drawn the lineage directly.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
The Bruins imported the latest in a lineage of Bay Area dynamic duos.
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2026
Grogu shows a growing mastery of the Force, even if the toddler’s lineage to the original Jedi sage Yoda remains mysterious and his language mostly gibberish.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
The entire lineage of Macs and PCs, PlayStations and Xboxes.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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.
