Pedigree

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈpÉ›.dɪ.ɡɹi/

Origin

From Anglo-Norman pé de grue, a variant of Old French pié de gru ("foot of a crane"), from Latin pedem ("foot") + gruem ("crane").

Full definition of pedigree

Noun

1. A chart, list, or record of ancestors, to show breeding, especially distinguished breeding. from 15th c.
2. A person's ancestral history; ancestry, lineage. from 15th c.
3. (uncountable) Good breeding or ancestry. from 15th c.
4. The history or provenance of an idea, custom etc. from 16th c.
• 2012, Faramerz Dabhoiwala, The Origins of Sex, Penguin 2013, p. 33:This connection between sexual and spiritual impurity had an immense pedigree.
5. The ancestry of a domesticated animal, especially a dog or horse. from 17th c.

Adjective

1. Having a pedigree.
2. Purebred.