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.

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ancestry British  

/ ˈænsɛstrɪ /

noun

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

2. ancestors collectively

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Etymology

Origin of ancestry

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

Example Sentences

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

The highest rates were found among people with ancestry from north west Ireland, where about one in 54 people are estimated to carry the variant.

From Science Daily

They also set up a recruiting station at high-level age-grade rugby events, inviting those with the ancestry and interest to scan a QR code and enter their details.

From BBC

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

Published in Nature, the study sheds new light on African populations that lived close to the evolutionary branch leading to Homo sapiens and helps clarify the shared ancestry of H. sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans.

From Science Daily

Related Words

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