family tree

noun

1. a genealogical chart showing the ancestry, descent, and relationship of all members of a family or other genealogical group.

family tree

noun

1. Also called: genealogical tree. a chart showing the genealogical relationships and lines of descent of a family

Word History and Origins

Origin of family tree¹

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

BBC Sport sits down with the 32-year-old, and speaks to his father Makasi, to piece together a tale of power, betrayal and survival which reads more like a political thriller than a family tree.

Read more on BBC

After my mom died, there were even more people in the family tree who could have laid claim to the candlesticks, but they are in my dining room, because I was my mom’s eldest daughter.

Read more on MarketWatch

To help figure out which seeds to use, he built a database that now traces the family trees of thousands of gargantuan gourds back generations.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

As Ms. Barnéoud writes, DNA normally travels only from parent to offspring, but microchimeric cells “are climbing up the family tree, traveling back in time.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The findings suggest our ancient family tree was more complex than previously thought -- and potentially far richer.

Read more on Science Daily