Pedigree

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pedigree \Ped"i*gree\ (p[e^]d"[i^]*gr[=e]), 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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Alterations of surnames . . . have obscured the
              truth of our pedigrees.               --Camden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              His vanity labored to contrive us a pedigree.
                                                    --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              I am no herald to inquire of men's pedigrees. --Sir
                                                    P. Sidney.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The Jews preserved the pedigrees of their tribes.
                                                    --Atterbury.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Stock Breeding) A record of the lineage or strain of an
        animal, as of a horse.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  pedigree
       adj : having a list of ancestors as proof of being a purebred
             animal [syn: {pedigree(a)}, {pedigreed}, {pureblood}, {pureblooded},
              {thoroughbred}]
       n 1: the descendants of one individual; "his entire lineage has
            been warriors" [syn: {lineage}, {line}, {line of descent},
             {descent}, {bloodline}, {blood line}, {blood}, {ancestry},
             {origin}, {parentage}, {stemma}, {stock}]
       2: line of descent of a pure-bred animal
       3: ancestry of a purebred animal [syn: {bloodline}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  33 Moby Thesaurus words for "pedigree":
     Almanach de Gotha, Red Book, Royal Kalendar, Social Register,
     Stammbaum, ancestry, birth, blood, bloodline, blue book,
     derivation, descent, directory, extraction, family, family tree,
     full-blooded, genealogical tree, genealogy, heritage, line,
     line of descent, lineage, origin, parentage, pedigreed, roots,
     stemma, stock, strain, studbook, thoroughbred, tree
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  PEDIGREE, descents. A succession of degrees from the origin; it is the state 
  of the family as far as regards the relationship of the different members, 
  their births, marriages and deaths; this term is applied to persons or 
  families, who trace their origin or descent. 
       2. On account of the difficulty of proving in the ordinary manner by 
  living witnesses, facts which occurred in remote times, hearsay evidence 
  (q.v.) has been admitted to prove a pedigree. 1 Phil. Ev. 186; 1 Stark. Ev. 
  55; 10 Serg. & Rawle, 383; 2 Supp. to Ves. jr. 110; 8 Com. Dig. 583 1 Pet. 
  337; 6 Pet., 81; 13 Pet. 209 1 Wheat. 6; 3 Wash. C. C. R. 243; 4 
  Wash.C.C.R.186; 3Bouv.Inst.n. 3067. Vide Descent; Line. 
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  PEDIGREE, n.  The known part of the route from an arboreal ancestor
  with a swim bladder to an urban descendant with a cigarette.