pedigree

ped·i·gree

noun \ˈpe-də-ˌgrē\

Definition of PEDIGREE

1

: a register recording a line of ancestors

2

a : an ancestral line : lineage b : the origin and the history of something; broadly : background, history

3

a : a distinguished ancestry b : the recorded purity of breed of an individual or strain

— ped·i·greed \-ˌgrēd\ or pedigree adjective

Examples of PEDIGREE

1. That horse has an impressive pedigree.
2. What is the dog's pedigree?
3. The puppy came with papers proving its pedigree.
4. Democracy is an idea with a pedigree stretching back to ancient Greece.
5. The company has an excellent pedigree with over a century in the business.

Origin of PEDIGREE

Middle English pedegru, from Anglo-French pé de grue, literally, crane's foot; from the shape made by the lines of a genealogical chart

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to PEDIGREE

Synonyms: birth, blood, bloodline, breeding, descent, extraction, family tree, genealogy, line, lineage, origin, parentage, ancestry, stock, strain

Antonyms: issue, posterity, progeny, seed

Related Words: heredity, succession; family, house; kin, kindred, relations, relatives; race

Near Antonyms: offspring; child, heir, inheritor, son, successor

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Other Genetics Terms

chimera, hermaphrodite, plasticity

Rhymes with PEDIGREE

abatis, ABC, ABD, abductee, absentee, acquiree, addressee, adoptee, advisee, alienee, allottee, amputee, apogee, appellee, appointee, appraisee, après-ski, arrestee, assignee, attendee, auditee, awardee, axletree, BVD, Baha'i, bain-marie, barley-bree, batterie, billi-bi, boiserie, bonhomie, booboisie, bourgeoisie, brasserie, brusquerie, bumblebee, camphor tree, camporee, cap-a-pie, causerie, Chamonix, Cherokee, chickadee, chickaree, chimpanzee, China Sea, Christmas tree, chroma-key, coati, Coligny, conferee, consignee, cop a plea, Coral Sea, counselee, context-free, counterplea, cruelty-free, Danaë, DDT, debauchee, Debussy, departee, deportee, dernier cri, designee, detainee, devisee, devotee, diploe, disagree, dischargee, divorcé, divorcée, DME, dungaree, duty-free, eau-de-vie, employee, endorsee, enlistee, enrollee, enshrinee, epopee, escadrille, escapee, ESP, evictee, expellee, family tree, fancy-free, fantasy, fedayee, fever tree, filigree, fleur-de-lis, franchisee, fricassee, function key, galilee, Galilee, garnishee, gaucherie, Gemini, Greenland Sea, guarani, guarantee, Hawaii, HIV, Holy See, honeybee, honoree, housemaid's knee, humble-bee, inductee, Inland Sea, internee, invitee, Irish Sea, IUD, jacquerie, jamboree, Java Sea, Joshua tree, jubilee, Judas tree, jumper's knee, jus soli, Kayseri, kedgeree, kidnappee, killer bee, LCD, LED, legatee, libelee, licensee, LSD, maître d', Malay Sea, manatee, master key, Mormon tea, mortgagee, murderee, NBC, nominee, obligee, oversea, oversee, Park Chung Hee, parolee, parti pris, pass degree, patentee, peppertree, perigee, permittee, pharisee, picotee, piroshki, point d'appui, potpourri, praecipe, presentee, promisee, public-key, rapparee, referee, refugee, rejectee, renminbi, repartee, retiree, returnee, RPV, rubber tree, saddletree, Sadducee, sangaree, Savaii, selectee, Semele, shivaree, slotting fee, snickersnee, spelling bee, spindle tree, SST, STD, Tappan Zee, Tenebrae, Tennessee, third degree, thirty-three, TNT, to a tee, toile de Jouy, torii, transferee, tulip tree, undersea, user fee, vaccinee, value-free, varnish tree, verdigris, VIP, vis-à-vis, wannabe, warrantee, Wounded Knee