lineage

¹

[lin-ee-ij]

noun

1. lineal descent from an ancestor; ancestry or extraction.

   She could trace her lineage to the early Pilgrims.

   Synonyms: genealogy, derivation, parentage, pedigree

2. the line of descendants of a particular ancestor; family.

   Synonyms: clan, tribe

lineage

²

[lahy-nij]

noun

1. linage.

lineage

¹

/ ˈlɪnɪɪdʒ /

noun

1. direct descent from an ancestor, esp a line of descendants from one ancestor

2. a less common word for derivation

lineage

²

/ ˈlaɪnɪdʒ /

noun

1. a variant spelling of linage

Word History and Origins

Origin of lineage¹

1275–1325; line(al) + -age; replacing Middle English linage < Anglo-French; Old French lignage < Vulgar Latin *līneāticum. See line ¹, -age

Word History and Origins

Origin of lineage¹

C14: from Old French lignage, from Latin līnea _line ¹

Example Sentences

He feeds her salmon and bottled water; no impurities for his girl, who has Russian and Danish lineage and is as smart as she is sweet, according to the proudest of dog owners.

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"There is some genetic evidence that points to the even earlier emergence of our species which may have recombined with our lineage, but this is not yet proven," he told BBC News.

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“Our lineage and our legacy hails back to Athens, to Rome, to Philadelphia, to Monticello,” Miller said.

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Bryan and other backers stressed that the language of the bill had been narrowly tailored to comply with Proposition 209 by focusing on lineage, rather than race.

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“We are reconnecting a lost lineage to that which is ancient and to that which is eternal,” Hull says.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• clan 
• descent 
• genealogy 
• origin 
• pedigree