noun / adjective

pedigree

PED-ih-gree/ˈpedɪɡriː/

A documented line of descent, especially showing purebred ancestry.

The breeder provides a detailed pedigree for each puppy.

Dog ancestry chart with three generations of dog portraits, no invented breed label.

Etymology

peOld Frenchfoot

+diOld Frenchof

+greeOld Frenchcrane

The usual explanation connects “crane’s foot” with a forked descent mark in genealogical charts, though this meaning is not attested in Old French. The chart’s name then came to mean the ancestral line itself, including an animal’s ancestry.

In context

National Human Genome Research Institute3:05

This is Mr. J pedigree so we can see here that he had colon cancer at the age of 41 and two polyps. His father had colon cancer at the age of 41

Integration of Genomics in Cancer Care & Issues in Caring for Individuals with Genetic Skin Disease

More examples

Her horse's pedigree goes back five generations.
The registry checks pedigrees before accepting dogs for breeding.
They raise pedigree cattle on their farm.

Forms

pedigree · pedigrees

pedigreed adjective — Having a documented line of purebred ancestry.

Similar words

genealogy: Traces family descent without necessarily establishing purebred status.
lineage: Names a line of descent, not necessarily its documentation.
ancestry: Refers broadly to ancestors rather than a formal breeding record.