- a variation of linage.
lineage
1 Americannoun
noun
-
direct descent from an ancestor, esp a line of descendants from one ancestor
-
a less common word for derivation
noun
Etymology
Origin of lineage
1275–1325; line(al) + -age; replacing Middle English linage < Anglo-French; Old French lignage < Vulgar Latin *līneāticum. See line 1, -age
Explanation
The word lineage is used to describe everyone who descends from a particular ancestor. Mozart had six children, but none of them had children of their own, so the composer’s lineage ended after one generation. If you put an adjective like artistic or spiritual before lineage, it becomes clear you're talking about people who are related by ideas or attitude, not by blood. There are many composers, even today, who trace their musical lineage to Mozart, even though his actual lineage ended in the 19th century.
Vocabulary lists containing lineage
It's All in the Family
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
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Born a Crime
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In part, that is because, if you squint, you can see its lineage in old-school food criticism.
From Salon • Jul. 5, 2026
“You’re looking at lineage from Nigeria, from Guatemala, from El Salvador, from Mexico, from Liberia, Jamaica, Croatia,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 4, 2026
The legitimacy of Kim's dictatorship rests heavily on his "Mount Paektu" bloodline - a lineage tied to the mythical founder of the Korean people.
From BBC • Jun. 27, 2026
The findings indicate that chemical signaling and cellular lineage may work together to provide positional information during development.
From Science Daily • Jun. 25, 2026
All of the agency’s computing staffs, at Langley, Cleveland, Ames, and Muroc, traced their lineage back to the first pool, and to Tucker’s labor as the first female computer supervisor.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
