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genealogy

[ jee-nee-ol-uh-jee, -al-, jen-ee- ]
/ ˌdʒi niˈɒl ə dʒi, -ˈæl-, ˌdʒɛn i- /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR genealogy ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural ge·ne·al·o·gies.

a record or account of the ancestry and descent of a person, family, group, etc.
the study of family ancestries and histories.
descent from an original form or progenitor; lineage; ancestry.
Biology. a group of individuals or species having a common ancestry: The various species of Darwin's finches form a closely knit genealogy.

RELATED WORDS

lineage, ancestry, genetics, parentage, pedigree, extraction, generation, descent, strain, heredity, derivation, line, history, stock, stemma, stirps

Nearby words

  1. gene-splicing,
  2. geneal.,
  3. genealogical,
  4. genealogical tree,
  5. genealogist,
  6. genearch,
  7. genecology,
  8. genera,
  9. generable,
  10. general

Origin of genealogy

1250–1300; Middle English genealogie < Middle French < Late Latin geneālogia < Greek geneālogía pedigree, equivalent to geneā́ race (see gene) + -logia -logy
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for genealogy

British Dictionary definitions for genealogy

genealogy

/ (ˌdʒiːnɪˈælədʒɪ) /

noun plural -gies

the direct descent of an individual or group from an ancestor
the study of the evolutionary development of animals and plants from earlier forms
a chart showing the relationships and descent of an individual, group, genes, etc
Derived Formsgenealogical (ˌdʒiːnɪəˈlɒdʒɪkəl) or genealogic, adjectivegenealogically, adverbgenealogist, noun

Word Origin for genealogy

C13: from Old French genealogie, from Late Latin geneālogia, from Greek, from genea race
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for genealogy

genealogy

n.

early 14c., "line of descent, pedigree, descent," from Old French genealogie (12c.), from Late Latin genealogia "tracing of a family," from Greek genealogia, from genea "generation, descent" (see genus) + -logia (see -logy). An Old English word for it was folctalu, literally "folk tale." Meaning "study of family trees" is from 1768.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for genealogy

genealogy

[ jē′nē-ŏl′ə-jē, -ăl′-, jĕn′ē- ]

n.

A record or table of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or ancestors; a family tree.
The study or investigation of ancestry and family histories.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.