- a variation of linage.
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.
Known as the Womack Sisters, BG, Zeimani and Kucha, come from an illustrious musical lineage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
The Chosen Ones Espenson cites are part of a destiny ordained either by their bloodline or some greater lineage.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
"This implies that viviparity among early cynodonts originated in the mammalian lineage at least 95 to 90 million years earlier than previously thought."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026
GM’s famed “Small Block” V-8 engine, a design that also traces its lineage back to the 1950s, has a similar following and cachet to the Hemi, Nicholson said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
All of the agency’s computing staffs, at Langley, Cleveland, Ames, and Muroc, traced their lineage back to the first pool, and to Tucker’s labor as the first female computer supervisor.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
