genealogy

[ jee-nee-ol-uh-jee, -al-, jen-ee- ]
See synonyms for: genealogygenealogical on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural ge·ne·al·o·gies.
  1. a record or account of the ancestry and descent of a person, family, group, etc.

  2. the study of family ancestries and histories.

  1. descent from an original form or progenitor; lineage; ancestry.

  2. Biology. a group of individuals or species having a common ancestry: The various species of Darwin's finches form a closely knit genealogy.

Origin of genealogy

1
First recorded in1250–1300; Middle English genealogie, from Middle French, from Late Latin geneālogia, from Greek geneālogía “pedigree,” equivalent to geneā́ “race” + -logia noun suffix; see gene -logy

synonym study For genealogy

1. See pedigree.

Other words from genealogy

  • ge·ne·a·log·i·cal [jee-nee-uh-loj-i-kuhl, jen-ee-], /ˌdʒi ni əˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl, ˌdʒɛn i-/, ge·ne·a·log·ic, adjective
  • ge·ne·a·log·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • ge·ne·al·o·gist, noun
  • non·ge·ne·a·log·ic, adjective
  • non·ge·ne·a·log·i·cal, adjective
  • non·ge·ne·a·log·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby genealogy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use genealogy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for genealogy

genealogy

/ (ˌdʒiːnɪˈælədʒɪ) /


nounplural -gies
  1. the direct descent of an individual or group from an ancestor

  2. the study of the evolutionary development of animals and plants from earlier forms

  1. a chart showing the relationships and descent of an individual, group, genes, etc

Origin of genealogy

1
C13: from Old French genealogie, from Late Latin geneālogia, from Greek, from genea race

Derived forms of genealogy

  • genealogical (ˌdʒiːnɪəˈlɒdʒɪkəl) or genealogic, adjective
  • genealogically, adverb
  • genealogist, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012