— pedigreeless , adj.
/ped"i gree'/ , n.
1. an ancestral line; line of descent; lineage; ancestry.
2. a genealogical table, chart, list, or record, esp. of a purebred animal.
3. distinguished, excellent, or pure ancestry.
4. derivation, origin, or history: the pedigree of a word.
[ 1375-1425; late ME pedegru pie de grue lit., foot of crane, a fanciful way of describing the appearance of the lines of a genealogical chart ]
Syn. 2. PEDIGREE, GENEALOGY refer to an account of ancestry. A PEDIGREE is a table or chart recording a line of ancestors, either of persons or (more especially) of animals, as horses, cattle, and dogs; in the case of animals, such a table is used as proof of superior qualities: a detailed pedigree. A GENEALOGY is an account of the descent of a person or family traced through a series of generations, usually from the first known ancestor: a genealogy that includes a king.