as in lineages
the line of ancestors from whom a person is descended
a Cambodian immigrant who can trace her Khmer ancestry as far back as the 16th century
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Recent Examples of ancestries
But many Chicanos trace their lineage to indigenous peoples who survived Spanish colonization, often carrying mixed indigenous, Spanish, and other ancestries, a testament to survival and cultural fusion.
—
David Alvarado, Time, 15 Dec. 2025
This lack of representation is problematic for people of different ancestries because genetic risk factors differ across populations.
—Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025
The box covers the most popular classes and ancestries such as humans, elves, dwarves and halflings.
—Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ancestries
Noun
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Most of these acquisitions occurred during a relatively narrow window in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, some 140 million years ago, just before many major lineages began to diverge quickly (in evolutionary terms, anyway).—
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The lineages appear to have co-existed in the region for a time.—
Noun
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Quarterbacks Brock Purdy and Jalen Hurts have outstanding pedigrees and produced in Super Bowls yet still have their detractors nationwide and within the fan base.—
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Last year, all five nominees boasted international pedigrees.—
Noun
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The seal texts often introduced the owners with their names, genealogies, gender, professions and hometowns.—
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Transcripts, grammars, vocabularies, dictionaries, glyph studies, botanical studies, commentaries, articles, editions of codices, correspondence, maps, charts, drawings, photographs, Maya Society materials, genealogies of Maya families, and Mayan glyphs on moveable type.—
Noun
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Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Israel, Palestine and Lebanon all have sites with Phoenician origins.—
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The origins of Short’s Black Dahlia nickname date back long before her murder.—
Cite this Entry
“Ancestries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ancestries. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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