genealogy
Americannoun
plural
genealogies-
a record or account of the ancestry and descent of a person, family, group, etc.
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the study of family ancestries and histories.
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descent from an original form or progenitor; lineage; ancestry.
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Biology. a group of individuals or species having a common ancestry.
The various species of Darwin's finches form a closely knit genealogy.
noun
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the direct descent of an individual or group from an ancestor
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the study of the evolutionary development of animals and plants from earlier forms
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a chart showing the relationships and descent of an individual, group, genes, etc
Usage
What is genealogy? Genealogy is the study of ancestry and descent of a person or a family.Genealogy can also refer to the actual chart detailing this information. This is often called a family tree.Genealogy is the process of studying someone’s ancestors and descendants and trying to record their family history and relatives. For example, if you decide to learn more about your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on (that is, your ancestors), you are practicing genealogy. If you decide to learn more about President Theodore Roosevelt’s children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on (that is, his descendants), you are also practicing genealogy.In biology, the word genealogy is used to describe a group of individuals or species that have a common ancestry. For example, a biologist might be interested in the genealogy of dogs and wolves when researching how they became separated from each other.
Related Words
See pedigree.
Other Word Forms
- genealogic adjective
- genealogical adjective
- genealogically adverb
- genealogist noun
- nongenealogic adjective
- nongenealogical adjective
- nongenealogically adverb
Etymology
Origin of genealogy
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English genealogie, from Middle French, from Late Latin geneālogia, from Greek geneālogía “pedigree,” equivalent to geneā́ “race” + -logia noun suffix; gene -logy
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Like family genealogy, such an explanation would fall under Handsome’s Inconsequential and Boring Bits category.
From Literature
The technique, known as forensic investigative genetic genealogy, incorporates public genealogy websites with DNA analysis.
From Los Angeles Times
While law enforcement did not get any hits in the federal database, they are also employing genetic genealogy in an effort to identify a suspect in the case.
From Los Angeles Times
“We’re not done. We’ve got a lot more in front of us,” he said, including testing the DNA against genealogy sites.
Ms. Mazzeo alternates between the macro and micro, now giving us detailed genealogies, now discussing the shipbuilding industry and the place of women in 19th-century society.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
