lineages
Bloodlines through generations
Lineages are lines of descent from ancestors, tracing family or biological connections across generations.
The term applies equally to human families, animal breeding, and cellular biology—anywhere hereditary succession matters.
She traced her lineages back to colonial Virginia.
In genetics and evolutionary biology, lineages describe populations sharing common ancestry, while in anthropology they often denote kinship groups that determine inheritance, social status, or tribal membership.
Ancestry through generations
- descentDownward slope or lineage
- forebearsAncestral family members
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
- progenitorsOriginal ancestors of a lineage
family tree · genealogy · heritage · roots · kinfolk · kindred · clan · tribe
Evolutionary relationships among organisms
- common ancestorOrigin point of descendants
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- divergenceSeparation from common origin
- cladisticsClassification by common descent
Record of descent
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
- purebredOf single breed ancestry
- thoroughbredOf pure ancestral line
- studbookPedigree registry for livestock
sire · dam · stock · registries · breeding program · outcross · inbreeding · kennel
Hereditary succession of sovereigns
- successionFollowing in order
- throneCeremonial chair for sovereigns
- reignSovereign's time in power
- heirOne who receives legacy
sovereign · monarchy · empire · kingdom · aristocracy · noble house · imperial family · coronation
Spiritual mentorship tradition
- transmissionSending of information
- paramparaGuru-disciple transmission chain
- silsilaSufi spiritual lineage
- spiritual heirSuccessor in thought or values
bloodline
Ancestry through generations
- descentDownward slope or lineage
- forebearsAncestral family members
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
progenitors · family tree · genealogy · heritage · roots · kinfolk · kindred · clan · tribe · house
phylogeny
Evolutionary relationships among organisms
- common ancestorOrigin point of descendants
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- divergenceSeparation from common origin
pedigree
Record of descent
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
- purebredOf single breed ancestry
- thoroughbredOf pure ancestral line
studbook · sire · dam · stock · registries · breeding program · outcross · inbreeding · kennel · cattery
royal line
Hereditary succession of sovereigns
- successionFollowing in order
- throneCeremonial chair for sovereigns
- reignSovereign's time in power
heir · sovereign · monarchy · empire · kingdom · aristocracy · noble house · imperial family · coronation · regent
guru-disciple
Spiritual mentorship tradition
- transmissionSending of information
- paramparaGuru-disciple transmission chain
- silsilaSufi spiritual lineage
- groupingsgroups, categories, classes, divisions, clusters
- nobilityking, queen, prince, princess, duke
- BuddhismBuddha, dharma wheel, Four Noble Truths, nirvana, dharma
- genealogyfamily trees, family history, descendants, ancestors, ancestry tracing
- macroevolutionmacroevolution, speciation, extinction, fossil record, common descent
- phylogeneticscladogram, clade, phylogeny, phylogenetics, cladistics
lineagesextinctions
Permanent species loss
parents · individuals · dead ends · terminations · moments
lineagesorphans
Children whose parents died
foundlings · breaks · rootlessness · isolation · anonymity
lineagesdescendants
Those who come after
progeny · offspring · posterity · heirs · successors
- family lineagesAncestral descent patterns
- female lineageAncestry traced through mothers
- male lineage
- royal lineageHereditary line of sovereigns
- maternal lineageAncestry through mothers
- divine lineageAncestry from gods