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

• birth
• blood
• bloodline
• breeding
• descent
• extraction
• family tree
• genealogy
• line
• lineage
• origin
• parentage
• pedigree
• stock
• strain

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

Brown created Ghost Story, the hit podcast about the host’s incredible journey discovering what happened with a potential haunting in his bedroom as a teenager and how that intersected with his wife’s ancestry. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 10 July 2024

Learning her African ancestry was never a priority for Gore, an east side resident who grew up in Milwaukee. —La Risa R. Lynch, Journal Sentinel, 28 June 2024

Meanwhile, some 37 million people living in the U.S. can trace their ancestry to Mexico. —Rafael Carranza, The Arizona Republic, 7 June 2024

She was distinguished as the first scholar of Samoan ancestry to receive a professorship at an American university. —Marina Watts, Peoplemag, 4 June 2024

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