genealogy

noun ge·ne·al·o·gy \ ˌjē-nē-ˈä-lə-jē also -ˈa-lə- also ˌje-nē- \

Updated on: 7 Apr 2018

Definition of genealogy

plural genealogies

1 : an account of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or from older forms

2 : regular descent of a person, family, or group of organisms from a progenitor (see progenitor 1) or older form : pedigree

3 : the study of family ancestral lines

4 : an account of the origin and historical development of something

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genealogical

play \ˌjē-nē-ə-ˈlä-ji-kəl, ˌje-nē-\ adjective

—

genealogically

play \ˌjē-nē-ə-ˈlä-ji-k(ə-)lē, ˌje-nē-\ adverb

See genealogy defined for English-language learners

See genealogy defined for kids

Examples of genealogy in a Sentence

They've been researching their genealogies.
has a distinguished genealogy that traces back to William the Conqueror

Recent Examples of genealogy from the Web

Learn about the history and mission of the society, tour the library’s renowned genealogy collection, and discover how to get involved with events and committees.

— linda mcintosh, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Daughters of the American Revolution recruiting," 2 Apr. 2018
Discover your past: Avon Lake Public Library librarian and genealogist, Laura Ploenzke, will explain how to get started in genealogy and how the library can help at 7 p.m. March 27 in the Waugaman Gallery.

— julie a. short/special to cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "Community march for Parkland Saturday: Short Takes on Avon, Avon Lake and North Ridgeville," 19 Mar. 2018
The team collected 86 million individual records from genealogy website Geni.com, a database of genealogical data uploaded and maintained by enthusiasts.

— kiona n. smith, Ars Technica, "13 million people tracked over 300 years to build massive human family tree," 1 Mar. 2018
Her genealogy shows no indication of Cherokee ancestry.

— Fox News, "Cherokee genealogist casts doubt on Elizabeth Warren's story of parents' elopement," 14 Mar. 2018
MyHeritage, an Israeli genealogy company, is donating 15,000 DNA kits to adoptees seeking their biological parents as part of an initiative called DNA Quest.

— brandon patterson, Detroit Free Press, "Free DNA test from MyHeritage can help adoptees find biological parents," 14 Mar. 2018
Also on March 10, those interested in genealogy can bring their laptops and participate in hands-on research with a particular focus on the Civil War Era.

— sara ervin walser, Laurel Leader, "Learn about genealogy and history at Montpelier [South Laurel/Montpelier]," 8 Mar. 2018
In 1996, Ola came home from a genealogy archive with a pile of documents.

— daniel a. gross, Newsweek, "Poland's Jewish Culture Rises From the Ashes of Persecution," 27 Jan. 2015
He is also immersed in the subtleties of how to question a drug dealer and the genealogy of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation gang.

— chris smith, Daily Intelligencer, "The Controversial Crime-Fighting Program That Changed Big-City Policing Forever," 2 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'genealogy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of genealogy

Middle English genealogie, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin genealogia, from Greek, from genea race, family + -logia -logy; akin to Greek genos race

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First Known Use: 14th century

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