pedigree

pedigree
    adj 1: 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}, {pedigree},
         {ancestry}, {origin}, {parentage}, {stemma}, {stock}]
    2: line of descent of a purebred animal
    3: ancestry of a purebred animal [syn: {pedigree}, {bloodline}]
    

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.
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            Alterations of surnames . . . have obscured the
            truth of our pedigrees.               --Camden.
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            His vanity labored to contrive us a pedigree.
                                                  --Milton.
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            I am no herald to inquire of men's pedigrees. --Sir
                                                  P. Sidney.
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            The Jews preserved the pedigrees of their tribes.
                                                  --Atterbury.
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   2. (Stock Breeding) A record of the lineage or strain of an
      animal, as of a horse.
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PEDIGREE, n.  The known part of the route from an arboreal ancestor
with a swim bladder to an urban descendant with a cigarette.
    

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. 
    

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