Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Pedigree
Ped′i-gree
(pĕd′ĭ-grē)
, Noun.
[Of unknown origin; possibly fr. F.
par degrés
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.
Alterations of surnames . . . have obscured the truth of our
pedigrees
. Camden.
His vanity labored to contrive us a
pedigree
. Milton.
I am no herald to inquire of men's
pedigrees
. Sir P. Sidney.
The Jews preserved the
pedigrees
of their tribes. Atterbury.
2.
(Stock Breeding)
A record of the lineage or strain of an animal, as of a horse.
Webster 1828 Edition
Pedigree
PED'IGREE
,Noun.
1.
Lineage; line of ancestors from which a person or tribe descends; genealogy. Alterations of surnames--have obscured the truth of our pedigrees.
2.
An account or register of a line of ancestors. The Jews preserved the pedigrees of their several tribes.