parentage
Americannoun
-
derivation or descent from parents or ancestors; birth, origin, or lineage.
a man of distinguished parentage.
- Synonyms:
- stock, extraction, ancestry
-
the state or relation of a parent; parenthood.
noun
-
ancestry
-
derivation from a particular origin
-
rare parenthood
Etymology
Origin of parentage
From Middle French, dating back to 1480–90; see origin at parent, -age
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.
The birth of a beautiful child to a couple in an Italian town is a cause for celebration, until the father’s suspicions about the boy’s true parentage grow into a dangerous obsession.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026
The secrecy around his parentage could also be part of the reason why he was quick to publicly present his wife Ri Sol Ju.
From BBC • Jun. 27, 2026
Florida law also allows non-biological fathers and mothers to establish their parentage via contractual consent when they conceive using donated sperm, eggs, or embryos.
From Slate • May 13, 2026
An uprising typically has a long parentage and, if effective enough, can leave behind many like-minded descendants.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
What purpose I had in view when I was hot on tracing out and proving Estella’s parentage, I cannot say.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
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.
