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

She became the first woman of Indian ancestry to serve as prime minister of a country outside the subcontinent when she won the office in 2010.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This suggests that P. robustus may not have been a single uniform species, but a mix of populations with different ancestries.

Read more on Science Daily

Bailey, who has Japanese ancestry, says the additions underscore how horror fandom is universal.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

On the home front, Romer shows how Ruth barnstormed Central California in 1927, a decade and a half before the U.S. government forced citizens of Japanese ancestry into internment camps there.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

DNA analysis has also revealed the men had a mix of ancestry and that none appeared to be from the local area.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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