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.
Japan has the world's oldest continuous hereditary monarchy, with a lineage that's believed to span more than 2,600 years.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
According to Rawlence, the ancestors of the St Bathans goose reached Zealandia more than 14 million years ago, but their lineage eventually disappeared without leaving surviving descendants.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
Iran is hoping to rally supporters in the country most key to its national interests and to position the ayatollah in a sacred lineage going back to the roots of Shia Islam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
In part, that is because, if you squint, you can see its lineage in old-school food criticism.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
Forty years later his great-nephew Nicolas, whom Marcos did not live to see, unearthed the desire to fly that had always existed in the men of his lineage.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
