genealogy

noun

ge·​ne·​al·​o·​gy ˌjē-nē-ˈä-lə-jē How to pronounce genealogy (audio)
also
-ˈa-lə- How to pronounce genealogy (audio)
 also  ˌje-nē-
plural genealogies
1
: an account of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or from older forms
2
: regular descent of a person, family, or group of organisms from a progenitor (see progenitor sense 1) or older form : pedigree
3
: the study of family ancestral lines
4
: an account of the origin and historical development of something
genealogical adjective
genealogically adverb

Examples of genealogy in a Sentence

They've been researching their genealogies. has a distinguished genealogy that traces back to William the Conqueror
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The victim’s profile was loaded into two consumer genealogy databases, GEDmatch and Family Tree DNA. Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 5 Apr. 2025 Barak said the companies' downfall was due to market saturation, fewer consumers interested in recreational genealogy and rising consumer wariness about how their sensitive data is handled. Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 27 Mar. 2025 For starters, the gene chips quickly became commodities, allowing a large range of competitors to enter the field, some of which had stronger backgrounds in things like linking genealogies to public records. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 24 Mar. 2025 Defense attorney Anne Taylor pushed to have the investigative genetic genealogy thrown out of the case, but 4th District Judge Steven Hippler denied that request last month. CBS News, 13 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for genealogy

Word History

Etymology

Middle English genealogie, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin genealogia, from Greek, from genea race, family + -logia -logy; akin to Greek genos race

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of genealogy was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Genealogy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genealogy. Accessed 12 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

genealogy

noun
ge·​ne·​al·​o·​gy ˌjē-nē-ˈäl-ə-jē How to pronounce genealogy (audio) ˌjen-ē- How to pronounce genealogy (audio)
-ˈal-
plural genealogies
1
: the line of ancestors of a person or family or a history of such a line of ancestors
2
: the study of family lines of ancestors
genealogical adjective
genealogically adverb
genealogist
-ˈäl-ə-jəst
-ˈal-
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on genealogy

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