genealogy

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

|Updated on: 10 Aug 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

—

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

But, according to Stedman, that changed when the DNA sample was matched to a relative of Rowe who had uploaded their DNA to a database on genealogy website GEDmatch – the same site which was involved in the Golden State Killer’s arrest.

— alexia fernandez, PEOPLE.com, "Wedding DJ Arrested for the Brutal 1992 Rape and Murder of School Teacher Christy Mirack," 26 June 2018
Representative Jackie Speier, a Democrat from California, on Thursday called on the genealogy website 23andMe to provide DNA tests to help identify migrant children separated from their parents by the Trump administration.

— matt ford, The New Republic, "The perils of using DNA tests to reunite migrant children with their parents.," 22 June 2018
Years went by before authorities discovered the DNA matches, and more years passed before investigators fed the DNA information into a genealogy website.

— sam stanton, sacbee, "He was a teen chasing a prowler in 1977. He ended up being shot by the East Area Rapist," 8 June 2018
Earlier this year, police tracked him down by comparing genetic profiles from genealogy websites to crime scene DNA, according to investigators.

— nicole chavez, CNN, "DNA that led to Golden State Killer suspect's arrest was collected from his car while he shopped," 2 June 2018
The documents don’t shed new light on the use of a genealogy website that led investigators to Mr. DeAngelo’s doorstep.

— zusha elinson, WSJ, "Secretly Collected DNA Led to Suspect’s Arrest in Golden State Killer Case," 1 June 2018
Together with her cousin, Luella Marshall, Joyce was instrumental in helping track the genealogy of more than 5,000 members of the Starratt family who migrated from Scotland to Nova Scotia in the 1700's.

— courant.com, "Joyce A. Grinold," 13 July 2018
At Midnight Rambler, for instance, a drink with a rich genealogy involving the maple and birch sugaring traditions of the Ojibwe tribe, is reduced to a list of ingredients: Texas Rye Whiskey, Pippali Birch, Maple, Angostura.

— elizabeth g. dunn, WSJ, "My Cocktail’s Smarter Than Yours: A Guide to the World’s Brainiest Bar Menus," 12 July 2018
The group discusses Legacy, a software program that manages the user’s genealogy records.

— linda mcintosh, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Vista Boys & Girls Club gala raises $85K ...community news," 11 July 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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year