- 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.
With Noah being a Manhunter, it turned out that he and John were dealing with similar questions around lineage and legacy and nature versus nurture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
He describes Casablancas and Co. as the last in a lineage of quintets that, collectively, have spanned five decades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Farther south is the most numerous lineage, Pygoscelis ellsworthi.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
"This international collaboration to support the last remaining individual could prevent the extinction of a species that represents a unique lineage with its own natural history," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
I thought of my father and his parents, my mother and her parents, each family’s respective lineage and history of participation in social movements—Garvey on one side and Booker T. Washington on the other.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
