Title and ancestry render a good man more
illustrious, but an ill one more contemptible.
--Addison.
[1913 Webster]
2. A series of ancestors or progenitors; lineage, or those who compose the line of natural descent. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
ancestry — ancestry, lineage, pedigree mean either one’s progenitors collectively or their quality or character as a whole. The words, however, are clearly distinguishable. Ancestry in its most restricted use evokes the image of a family tree with its… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
ancestry — I noun affiliation, ascendants, blood, blood relationship, blood tie, bloodline, cognation, connection, consanguinity, derivation, descent, family, family connection, family tree, filiation, forebears, forefathers, former generations, genealogy,… … Law dictionary
ancestry — (n.) early 14c., from O.Fr. ancesserie ancestry, ancestors, forefathers, from ancestre (see ANCESTOR (Cf. ancestor)); spelling modified in English by influence of ancestor … Etymology dictionary
ancestry — [n] family predecessors; family history ancestor, antecedent, antecessor, blood, breed, breeding, derivation, descent, extraction, forebear, forefather, foregoer, foremother, forerunner, genealogy, heritage, house, kindred, line, lineage, origin … New thesaurus
ancestry — ► NOUN (pl. ancestries) ▪ a person s ancestors or ethnic origins … English terms dictionary
ancestry — [an′ses΄trē; ] also [, an′səstrē, an′sistrē] n. pl. ancestries [ME ancestrie < OFr ancesserie < ancestre, ANCESTOR] 1. family descent or lineage 2. ancestors collectively: opposed to POSTERITY 3. noble or distinguished descent … English World dictionary
ancestry — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ common, shared ▪ The two species have developed from a common ancestry. ▪ African, Japanese, etc. VERB + ANCESTRY … Collocations dictionary
ancestry — n. 1) to trace one s ancestry 2) of (a certain) ancestry (to be of French ancestry) * * * [ ænsəstrɪ] to trace one s ancestry of (a certain) ancestry (to be of French ancestry) … Combinatory dictionary
ancestry — an|ces|try [ˈænsəstri, ses US ses ] n plural ancestries [C usually singular, U] formal the members of your family who lived a long time ago of ... ancestry ▪ Her mother is of German ancestry (=has German ancestors) . ▪ Helen s family can trace… … Dictionary of contemporary English
ancestry — /an ses tree/ or, esp. Brit., / seuh stree/, n., pl. ancestries. 1. family or ancestral descent; lineage. 2. honorable or distinguished descent: famous by title and ancestry. 3. a series of ancestors: His ancestry settled Utah. 4. the inception… … Universalium
