ancestry

noun

an·​ces·​try ˈan-ˌse-strē 

1

: line of descent : lineage

especially : honorable, noble, or aristocratic descent

2

: persons initiating or comprising a line of descent : ancestors

Synonyms of ancestry

• lineage
• genealogy
• origin
• pedigree
• descent
• family
• breeding

Examples of ancestry in a Sentence

They claim to be of noble ancestry.

a person of unknown ancestry

She claims to be able to trace her ancestry all the way back to the earliest settlers.

Recent Examples on the Web

Hollywood couple Meagan Good and Jonathan Majors received Guinean citizenship after tracing their ancestry to the West African country through DNA testing. —Arkansas Online, 11 Jan. 2026

Minnesota is home to the largest Somali diaspora in the world, with roughly 80,000 residents of Somali ancestry. —Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026

Tracy Jones is a poet, writer, and multidisciplinary artist whose work explores existential dimensions of technology, spirituality, ancestry, and the environment. —Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Jan. 2026

The results reveal structural parallels across many organisms without any shared ancestry. —Anirban Mukhopadhyay, Scientific American, 5 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

ancestry

noun

an·​ces·​try ˈan-ˌses-trē 

1

: line of descent

2

: one's ancestors