Ancestry

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈæn.sɛs.tɹi/

Definitions

1. The line of family members from whom a person is descended through previous generations
2. The lineage and heritage of individuals derived from preceding generations often encompassing cultural and social connections
3. The genealogical background of a person, including familial ties and historical roots that shape identity over time

Etymology: Ancestry is a case of a word that quietly took over a neighbour's job. Its immediate source is Middle English "auncestrie", borrowed from Old French "ancesserie", and the French form itself is built on "ancestre", the same root that gave English "ancestor". The Old French suffix "-erie" carried the sense of a collective or condition, so the word began as a way of talking about a whole line of forebears rather than one individual. The root behind all of this is Latin "antecessor", literally "one who goes before", formed from "ante" ("before") and "cedere" ("to go"). Latin "antecessor" was used for predecessors in office and for forerunners in general, and its descendant "ancestor" eventually pushed the line-of-descent sense toward the individual. Ancestry, by contrast, kept the collective meaning, so the two words split the work between a single forebear and the whole family line.

Synonyms: lineage, heritage, descent

Antonyms: descendants