ancestry

[an-ses-tree, -suh-stree]

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

/ ˈænsɛstrɪ /

noun

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

2. ancestors collectively

Word History and Origins

Origin of ancestry¹

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

Example Sentences

An award-winning Canadian-American author whose career was tied to his apparent indigenous ancestry has recently learned that he has no Cherokee roots.

Read more on 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.

Read more on 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.

Read more on Salon

Groundbreaking DNA analysis of Adolf Hitler's blood has uncovered some extraordinary findings about the dictator's ancestry and possible health conditions.

Read more on BBC

He explained that two weeks before their chance meeting, he had taken an ancestry DNA test in the hope of finding a link to his father.

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Related Words

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