ancestry

C2+ Topic:Family & Relationships

US /ˈænsɛstri/ UK /ˈænsɪstri/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
one's family or ethnic descent; lineage

He traced his ancestry back to medieval Provence.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · one's family or ethnic... lineage descent heritage pedigree extraction stockbloodlineparentage

Opposites

descendants posterity progeny

Word family

Related forms ancestor ancestral

Etymology

From Middle English ancestrie, an alteration of Old French ancesserie, from ancestre ('ancestor'), from Latin antecessor ('predecessor'), from antecedere ('to go before'), from ante- ('before') + cedere ('to go').

ancestre Middle English antecessor Latin cedere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Family & Relationships Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# ancestry

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈænsɛstri/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈænsɪstri/

## Meanings
1. one's family or ethnic descent; lineage

## Examples
- He traced his ancestry back to medieval Provence.

## Synonyms
- lineage
- descent
- heritage
- pedigree
- extraction
- stock
- bloodline
- parentage

## Antonyms
- descendants
- posterity
- progeny

## Related Forms
- ancestor
- ancestral

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ancestre
- Root: antecessor
- Root: cedere

## Etymology
From Middle English ancestrie, an alteration of Old French ancesserie, from ancestre ('ancestor'), from Latin antecessor ('predecessor'), from antecedere ('to go before'), from ante- ('before') + cedere ('to go').

## AI Etymology
Ancestry is a noun meaning "one's family or ethnic descent; lineage". Historically, it is from Middle English ancestrie, an alteration of Old French ancesserie, from ancestre ('ancestor'), from Latin antecessor ('predecessor'), from antecedere ('to go before'), from ante- ('before') + cedere ('to go'). The visible construction is part of the etymology: ancestry is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The historical chain links Old French ancestre, Latin antecessor, and Latin cedere. Close English family members include ancestor, and ancestral.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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