genealogy

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

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

—

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

This cozy museum features local archaeological finds; pioneer crafts; mercantile and family genealogy records; Civil War displays; and toys and musical instruments, including a violano, an Edison phonograph, and more.

— joy wallace dickinson, OrlandoSentinel.com, "History is on calendar as school bells ring," 13 Aug. 2017
Still another source, the Clan Akins genealogy page, says Uncle Jerry was listed on the 1880 Cherokee County census as 100 years old, which would have made him 116 at the time of his death.

— kelly kazek, AL.com, "Did former slave Uncle Jerry Akins really live to be 136?," 19 July 2017
A receipt is a biography that must be revived in the kitchen to truly be told again, to truly become a link in culinary genealogy.

— heather richie, Southern Living, "Keeping Receipts: The New Life of Old Cookbooks," 11 July 2017
The miniseries, which traced Haley’s genealogy back to the Gambia, spurred many African Americans to start tracing their own ancestries.

— ed yong, The Atlantic, "How African Americans Use DNA Testing to Connect With Their Past," 27 June 2017
Study Your Roots: The Chagrin Falls Historical Society is offering a workshop on genealogy 3-5 p.m. Saturday, July 15 at its headquarters, 87 East Washington St. in Chagrin Falls.

— joan rusek, cleveland.com, "Volunteers help children read and rescue dogs: Valley Views," 26 June 2017
Just for funsies, Ancestry.com offered their genealogy services to the cast of Turn: Washington's Spies to determine whether any of the stars had Revolutionary War connections.

— jayme deerwester, USA TODAY, "Odd 'Turn' of events: Actor who plays Hamilton has family link to Aaron Burr," 17 June 2017
Because surnames for former slaves were so fluid and not set on any particular laws or rules, determining a surname during and after slavery is often the most challenging aspect of African-American genealogy.

— The Root, "Tracing Your Roots: Were Slaves’ Surnames Like Brands?," 16 June 2017
Mr. Warner's hobbies included managing his stock portfolio, genealogy, antiques collecting, metal detecting and Civil War history.

— frederick n. rasmussen, baltimoresun.com, "William S. Warner, stockbroker and World War II pilot," 14 June 2017

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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