Wiktionary

ancestry

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English auncestrie, from Old French ancesserie. See ancestor.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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ancestry (plural ancestries)

  1. The state of being ancestors
  2. birth to a noble or high-ranking family, or to someone of honorable descent.
    • August 1 1713, Joseph Addison, The Guardian volume 123
      Title and ancestry render a good man more illustrious, but an ill one more contemptible.
    • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: SSV Normandy:
      Tali: My people place a high value on family and ancestry. There's an unspoken expectation that I'll live up to my father's example.
  3. A series of ancestors; the people from whom one is descended
    Synonym: lineage
    I can trace my ancestry back to the 18th century.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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