pedigree

[ped-i-gree] /ˈpɛd ɪˌgri/

noun

an ancestral line; line of descent; lineage; ancestry.

a genealogical table, chart, list, or record, especially of a purebred animal.

distinguished, excellent, or pure ancestry.

derivation, origin, or history:

the pedigree of a word.

Origin

1375-1425; late Middle English pedegru < Anglo-French, equivalent to Middle French pie de grue literally, foot of crane, a fanciful way of describing the appearance of the lines of a genealogical chart

Related forms

pedigreeless, adjective

Synonyms

2. Pedigree, genealogy refer to an account of ancestry. A pedigree is a table or chart recording a line of ancestors, either of persons or (more especially) of animals, as horses, cattle, and dogs; in the case of animals, such a table is used as proof of superior qualities: a detailed pedigree. A genealogy is an account of the descent of a person or family traced through a series of generations, usually from the first known ancestor: a genealogy that includes a king.

Examples from the web for pedigree

If you ante up four figures, you can own a mechanical watch made by a company with a recognizable pedigree.
The portrait that emerges is of a culture that's insanely obsessed with pedigree.
They even have a ban on importing any horses to keep the pedigree line pure.
But it does lend some perspective to the genetic pedigree of the species and individual.
But given the pedigree of these boxes, they would all be screened.
So let's not pretend that educational pedigree is a completely unbiased barometer of anyone's ability to perform a job.
And attempts by poor countries to alter the course of urbanisation have a long pedigree in the rich world.
The apartment has good bones and an impeccable pedigree.
Our unique expressiveness may have a three-million-year-old pedigree.
Such financial crises may appear to come from nowhere, but they have a long pedigree.

British Dictionary definitions for pedigree

pedigree

/ˈpɛdɪˌɡriː/

noun

the line of descent of a purebred animal
(as modifier): a pedigree bull

a document recording this

a genealogical table, esp one indicating pure ancestry

derivation or background: the pedigree of an idea

Derived Forms

pedigreed, adjective

Word Origin

C15: from Old French pie de grue crane's foot, alluding to the spreading lines used in a genealogical chart

Word Origin and History for pedigree

early 15c., "genealogical table or chart," from Anglo-French pe de gru, a variant of Old French pied de gru "foot of a crane," from Latin pedem accusative of pes "foot" (see foot (n.)) + gruem (nominative grus) "crane," cognate with Greek geranos, Old English cran; see crane (n.)).

On old manuscripts, "descent" was indicated by a forked sign resembling the branching lines of a genealogical chart; the sign also happened to look like a bird's footprint. Form influenced in Middle English by association with degree. Meaning "ancestral line" is mid-15c.; of animals, c.1600. Related: Pedigreed.

pedigree in Medicine

pedigree ped·i·gree (pěd'ĭ-grē')
n.
An ancestral line of descent, especially as diagrammed on a chart, to show ancestral history and to analyze Mendelian inheritance of certain traits including familial diseases.