/ ˈænsestri; NAmE / noun
[ C , usually sing. , U ] ( pl. -ies ) the family or the race of people that you come from :
to have Scottish ancestry
He was able to trace his ancestry back over 1 000 years.
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : alteration of Old French ancesserie , from ancestre , from Latin antecessor , from antecedere , from ante before + cedere go.