maternal line
Descent through mothers
The maternal line is ancestry traced through mothers—from a person to their mother, to their mother's mother, and so on.
Genealogists and geneticists distinguish it from the paternal line because mitochondrial DNA passes only through mothers, making the maternal line useful for tracing deep ancestry: DNA analysis revealed her maternal line originated in East Africa.
- matrilinealDescended through maternal line
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- motherFemale parent
- grandmotherMother of a parent
- great grandmotherGrandparent's mother
mother's side · bloodline · descent · heritage · family history · mitochondrial · genetic inheritance · DNA · family tree · foremothers · womb · inheritance · clan · kinship · daughters · passed down · generations · umbilical
- kinshipmother, father, sister, brother, children
- lineageancestry, royal dynasties, bloodline, noble houses, dynasty
- genealogyfamily trees, family history, descendants, ancestors, ancestry tracing
- DNA ancestryancestry test, DNA test, DNA match, genetic genealogy, haplogroup
- parentagepaternity, parentage, fatherhood, motherhood, natural parent
- matrilineal kinshipmatriarch, clan mother, clan mothers, mother's side
maternal linepaternal line
Ancestry through fathers
paternal lineage · patrilineage · male line · patrilineal · agnatic succession
maternal, line, maternity, maternally, mater, matrix, matriculate, matrimony, matrimonial