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.
But their shared lust for adventure created a prickly tension within their family unit, a strain between their passion and parentage that sits at the documentary’s emotional center.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
Chelsey Calhoun, the investigating police detective, is also of Japanese descent, though she was adopted and knows nothing of her true parentage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
In its place, the Reconstruction Congress adopted the broad view of citizenship based on the place of birth, not parentage, that had been part of English law for centuries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
But the question of Kim's parentage hangs over the supreme leader to this day.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
The young pigs were piebald, and as Napoleon was the only boar on the farm, it was possible to guess at their parentage.
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.