pedigree

Noun · Adjective
Synonyms: lineagelineline of descentdescentbloodlineblood linebloodancestryoriginparentagestemmastock

WordNet 3.0

Noun (3)

  1. the descendants of one individual“his entire lineage has been warriors”Synonyms: lineagelineline of descentdescentbloodlineblood linebloodancestryoriginparentagestemmastock
  2. line of descent of a purebred animal
  3. ancestry of a purebred animalSynonyms: bloodline

Adjective (1)

  1. having a list of ancestors as proof of being a purebred animalSynonyms: pedigree(a)pedigreedpurebloodpurebloodedthoroughbred
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Pedigree \Ped"i*gree\ (p[e^]d"[i^]*gr[=e]), n. [Of unknown origin; possibly fr. F. par degr['e]s by degrees, -- for a pedigree is properly a genealogical table which records the relationship of families by degrees; or, perh., fr. F. pied de grue crane's foot, from the shape of the heraldic genealogical trees.]

1.A line of ancestors; descent; lineage; genealogy; a register or record of a line of ancestors. [1913 Webster]

Alterations of surnames . . . have obscured the truth of our pedigrees.— Camden.[1913 Webster]
His vanity labored to contrive us a pedigree.— Milton.[1913 Webster]
I am no herald to inquire of men's pedigrees.— Sir P. Sidney.[1913 Webster]
The Jews preserved the pedigrees of their tribes.— Atterbury.[1913 Webster]

2.(Stock Breeding) A record of the lineage or strain of an animal, as of a horse. [1913 Webster]

The Devil's Dictionary

PEDIGREE, n. The known part of the route from an arboreal ancestor with a swim bladder to an urban descendant with a cigarette.
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