Standard Lemma guide

lineage

noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australian, Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈlɪn.i.ɪd͡ʒ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Texas: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: L IH1 N IY0 AH0 JH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Descent in a line from a common progenitor; progeny; descending line of offspring or ascending line of parentage.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A number of lines of text in a column.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Qualifier: press

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A fee or rate paid per line of text.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

inherited properties shared with others of your bloodline

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ancestry, derivation, filiation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: inheritance, hereditary pattern

Narrower terms: origin, descent, extraction, pedigree, bloodline

5

noun

Meaning 5

the descendants of one individual

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • his entire lineage has been warriors

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: line, line of descent, descent, bloodline, blood line, blood, pedigree, ancestry, origin, parentage, stemma, stock

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: genealogy, family tree

Narrower terms: family, family line, folk, kinfolk, kinsfolk, sept, phratry, side

6

noun

Meaning 6

a rate of payment for written material that is measured according to the number of lines submitted

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: linage

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: rate, charge per unit

7

noun

Meaning 7

the number of lines in a piece of printed material

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: linage

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: number

8

noun

Meaning 8

the kinship relation between an individual and the individual's progenitors

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: descent, line of descent, filiation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: kinship, family relationship, relationship

Narrower terms: bilateral descent, unilateral descent

History

Etymology

From Middle English linage, from Old French linage, from ligne, from Latin linea (“line”); equivalent to line + -age.

Across languages

Translations

89 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Azerbaijani: soy — descent
  • Azerbaijani: nəsil — descent
  • Basque: narea — descent
  • Bulgarian: произход (proizhod) — descent
  • Catalan: llinatge — descent
  • Chinese Mandarin: 血統 /血统 (xuètǒng) — descent
  • Czech: rod — descent
  • Dutch: geslacht — descent
  • Dutch: nakomelingschap — descent
  • Dutch: afkomst — descent
  • Dutch: afstamming — descent
  • Faroese: ætt — descent
  • Faroese: ættarslag — descent
  • Finnish: sukujuuret — descent
  • Finnish: esivanhemmat — descent
  • French: descendance — descent
  • French: lignée — descent
  • French: lignage — descent
  • Galician: liñaxe — descent
  • Galician: fruxe — descent
  • German: Abstammung — descent
  • German: Geschlecht — descent
  • German: Abstammungreihe — descent
  • German: Abstammunglinie — descent
  • Greek: γενεαλογία (genealogía) — descent
  • Hebrew: שׁוֹשֶׁלֶת (shoshélet) — descent
  • Hindi: वंश (vañś) — descent
  • Hindi: कुल (kul) — descent
  • Hungarian: származás — descent
  • Hungarian: eredet — descent
  • Irish: líne — descent
  • Irish: ginealach — descent
  • Italian: discendenza — descent
  • Italian: lignaggio — descent
  • Italian: stirpe — descent
  • Latin: stirps — descent
  • Latin: prōsāpia — descent
  • Malay: zuriat — descent
  • Malayalam: വംശപാരമ്പര്യം (vaṁśapāramparyaṁ) — descent
  • Manx: sheel — descent
  • Māori: tātai — descent
  • Māori: kaha — descent
  • Marshallese: bwij — descent
  • Middle English: lynage — descent
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kjønn — descent
  • Persian: تبار (tabâr) — descent
  • Polish: rodowód — descent
  • Portuguese: linhagem — descent
  • Portuguese: descendência — descent
  • Portuguese: estirpe — descent
  • Quechua: awkikuna — descent
  • Romanian: descendență — descent
  • Romanian: filiație — descent
  • Russian: происхожде́ние (proisxoždénije) — descent
  • Russian: родосло́вная (rodoslóvnaja) — descent
  • Scottish Gaelic: sìol — descent
  • Scottish Gaelic: sinnsearachd — descent
  • Scottish Gaelic: sliochd — descent
  • Slovak: rod — descent
  • Spanish: linaje — descent
  • Spanish: estirpe — descent
  • Spanish: prosapia — descent
  • Spanish: alcurnia — descent
  • Spanish: abolengo — descent
  • Swahili: kizazi — descent
  • Swedish: härstamning — descent
  • Turkish: köken — descent
  • Turkish: nesil — descent
  • Turkish: soy — descent
  • Ottoman Turkish: صوی (soy) — descent
  • Ottoman Turkish: نسل (nesl) — descent
  • Ottoman Turkish: ذریت (zürriyet) — descent
  • Ukrainian: родові́д (rodovíd) — descent
  • Ukrainian: похо́дження (poxódžennja) — descent
  • Welsh: tras — descent
  • Welsh: achau — descent
  • Yiddish: ייִחוס (yikhes) — descent
  • Bulgarian: брой редове (broj redove) — number of lines
  • Chinese Mandarin: 行數 /行数 — number of lines
  • Dutch: lijnental — number of lines
  • Finnish: rivimäärä — number of lines
  • French: lignage — number of lines
  • German: Zeilenzahl — number of lines
  • Italian: righe — number of lines
  • Russian: число́ строк (čisló strok) — number of lines
  • Swahili: kizazi — number of lines
  • Chinese Mandarin: 按行費率 /按行费率 (àn háng fèilǜ) — fee or rate paid per line of text
  • Finnish: rivihinta — fee or rate paid per line of text
  • German: Zeilengebühr — fee or rate paid per line of text
Real reading context

lineage in complete knowledge articles