ancestry

== English == === Alternative forms === ancestrie (obsolete) auncestrie (obsolete) auncestry (obsolete) === Etymology === From Middle English auncestrie, from Old French ancesserie. See ancestor. === Pronunciation === (US) IPA(key): /ˈæn.sɛs.tɹi/ === Noun === ancestry (countable and uncountable, plural ancestries) The state of being ancestors. Birth to a noble or high-ranking family, or to someone of honorable descent. August 1 1713, Joseph Addison, The Guardian volume 123 A series of ancestors; the people from whom one is descended. Synonym: lineage ==== Synonyms ==== provenance parentage descent ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ancestor ancestral ==== Translations ==== === References === “ancestry”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.