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Definition of pedigree - 6 dictionary results
ped⋅i⋅gree
[ped-i-gree]
–noun
| 1. | an ancestral line; line of descent; lineage; ancestry. |
| 2. | a genealogical table, chart, list, or record, esp. of a purebred animal. |
| 3. | distinguished, excellent, or pure ancestry. |
| 4. | derivation, origin, or history: the pedigree of a word. |
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME pedegru < AF, equiv. to MF pie de grue lit., foot of crane, a fanciful way of describing the appearance of the lines of a genealogical chart
1375–1425; late ME pedegru < AF, equiv. to MF pie de grue lit., foot of crane, a fanciful way of describing the appearance of the lines of a genealogical chart

Related forms:
ped⋅i⋅gree⋅less, 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.
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.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To pedigree
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Pedigree
Ped"i*gree\, n. [Of unknown origin; possibly fr. F. par degr['e]s by degrees, -- for a pedigree is properly a genealogical table which records the relationship of families by degrees; or, perh., fr. F. pied de grue crane's foot, from the shape of the heraldic genealogical trees.]1. A line of ancestors; descent; lineage; genealogy; a register or record of a line of ancestors. Alterations of surnames . . . have obscured the truth of our pedigrees. --Camden. His vanity labored to contrive us a pedigree. --Milton. I am no herald to inquire of men's pedigrees. --Sir P. Sidney. The Jews preserved the pedigrees of their tribes. --Atterbury. 2. (Stock Breeding) A record of the lineage or strain of an animal, as of a horse.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : pedigree
Spanish:
pedigrí, linaje,
German:
der Stammbaum,
Japanese:
系図
pedigree
c.1410, "genealogical table or chart," from Anglo-Fr. pe de gru, a variant of O.Fr. pied de gru "foot of a crane," from L. pedem "foot" + gruem (nom. grus) "crane," cognate with Gk. geranos, O.E. cran, see crane). 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 infl. in M.E. by association with degree. Meaning "ancestral line" is c.1440; of animals, 1608.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: ped·i·gree
Pronunciation: 'ped-&-"grE
Function: noun
: a record of the ancestry of an individual
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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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.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.

