genealogy
genealogy Lexical Profile
genealogy Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The study and tracing of lines of descent, family history, and kinship.
"Her interest in genealogy led her to spend hours examining nineteenth-century census records at the national archives."
A line of descent traced continuously from an ancestor, or a chart or recorded history documenting such ancestry.
"The ancient manuscript preserved the royal genealogy of the dynasty across twelve generations."
The historical development or evolutionary lineage of a concept, social institution, language, or biological group from earlier forms.
"In his seminar, the philosopher traced the genealogy of modern legal ethics back to Enlightenment thought."
Word Nuance & Usage
Often misspelled as "geneology" by analogy with words ending in "-ology"; the correct spelling retains the "a" from the Greek root "genea" (generation).
• Rhymes for genealogy
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French genealogie, via Late Latin genealogia, from Ancient Greek genealogia ("the making of a pedigree"), combining genea ("generation" or "family") and logos ("account" or "study").