lineage

¹ American  

[lin-ee-ij] / ˈlɪn i ɪdʒ /

noun

1. lineal descent from an ancestor; ancestry or extraction.

   She could trace her lineage to the early Pilgrims.

   Synonyms:

   genealogy, derivation, parentage, pedigree

2. the line of descendants of a particular ancestor; family.

   Synonyms:

   clan, tribe

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lineage ² American  

[lahy-nij] / ˈlaɪ nɪdʒ /

noun

1. linage.

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lineage ¹ British  

/ ˈlɪnɪɪdʒ /

noun

1. direct descent from an ancestor, esp a line of descendants from one ancestor

2. a less common word for derivation

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lineage ² British  

/ ˈlaɪnɪdʒ /

noun

1. a variant spelling of linage

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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

Example Sentences

The key lies in a skeletal feature previously seen only in bipedal members of the human lineage.

From Science Daily

In other words, a significant number of multiracial Americans will “airbrush” their polyglot lineage and instead focus on their European provenance.

From Salon

Legend has it that the royals are descended from the sun goddess Amaterasu and can trace their lineage back thousands of years, but their divine status was renounced after World War II.

From Barron's

Their findings, published in New Phytologist, trace the plant's evolutionary history, reveal how its internal structures have adapted to a parasitic lifestyle, and open new doors for future research into this unusual lineage.

From Science Daily

If there is to be a stubborn print holdout, it seems right that it is Merriam-Webster, which traces its lineage to Noah Webster’s “American Dictionary of the English Language” from 1828.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• clan
• descent
• genealogy
• origin
• pedigree