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lineage

ancestry / pedigree

/ˈlɪ.ni.ɪdʒ/

[C/U] Both
pl: lineages

Lineage carries a sense of continuity and prestige that "family tree" lacks. It evokes an image of an unbroken chain stretching back through time, often implying a legacy, status, or a specific biological inheritance. In human contexts, it is more formal than "ancestry" and is frequently used when discussing nobility, royalty, or ancient heritage where the exact sequence of descent is significant. In scientific or intellectual contexts, it describes a developmental path. It focuses on the trajectory of evolution or the transmission of an idea from one iteration to the next, emphasizing the causal link between the predecessor and the successor.

Uncountable when referring to the general concept of ancestry ('of royal lineage'). Countable when identifying a specific chain of descent or a distinct evolutionary branch ('the primate lineage').

💬Casual Conversation

🎬Tuesday afternoon; Victoria is in a board meeting, David is at his desk trying to avoid work.
David

Just read that my family's lineage traces back to royalty. Pretty wild, right?

David
Victoria
Victoria

Cut the chatter and send over those Q3 reports before I lose it.

💡
David is attempting to build rapport by sharing a personal 'fun fact' about his ancestry, but Victoria shuts him down using the idiom 'cut the chatter' (stop talking/distracting) and the phrase 'lose it' (become extremely angry), highlighting their stark power imbalance.

Meanings

Nounancestry

Direct descent from an ancestor; ancestry or pedigree.

"The family could trace their lineage back to the 12th century."

Nounpedigree

A sequence of related entities, such as species or ideas, evolving from a common origin.

"Scientists are studying the evolutionary lineage of these primates."

Etymology

Derived from the Old French word lignage, which stems from ligne meaning line. This root is traced back to the Latin linea, referring to a linen thread or a marked line, reflecting the conceptualization of family descent as a continuous, unbroken string connecting generations.

Related Words

ancestrydescentbloodlineextractiongenealogyancestordescendantheritageprogenyforebear
Last Updated: June 8, 2026Report an Error