Dictionary

lineage en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• (Texas) audio
• /ˈlɪn.i.ɪd͡ʒ/ (Australia, Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) Descent in a line from a common progenitor; progeny; descending line of offspring or ascending line of parentage.
   • “Ah, but these hens,” answered the young man,—“these hens of aristocratic lineage would scorn to understand the vulgar language of a barn-yard fowl. I prefer to think—and so would Miss Hepzibah—that they recognize the family tone. For you are a Pyncheon?” 1851 April 9, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC:
   • To counterbalance those foreign centinels^([sic]), there mounted guard on the other side of the mirror two stout warders of Scottish lineage; […] 1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume II (The Bride of Lammermoor), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 301:
   • Edwards great linage by the mothers ſide, / Fiue hundred yeeres hath helde the ſcepter vp, 1596, [attributed to William Shakespeare; Thomas Kyd], The Raigne of King Edward the Third: […], London: […] [T. Scarlet] for Cuthbert Burby, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:
   • To produce Tess, fresh from the dairy, as a d’Urberville and a lady, he had felt to be temerarious and risky; hence he had concealed her lineage till such time as, familiarized with worldly ways by a few months’ travel and reading with him, he could take her on a visit to his parents and impart the knowledge while triumphantly producing her as worthy of such an ancient line. It was a pretty lover’s dream, if no more. Perhaps Tess’s lineage had more value for himself than for anybody in the world beside. 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC:
   • […]; and therefore they were to me now no more than if they had never been of my Linage; […] 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page 95:
   • Data lineage is not a new concept, but modern business requirements far outstrip the siloed, limited features of the past. […] The demand for data lineage comes from both technical and business users, including data architects, data engineers, data stewards, analysts and data scientists, as well as business managers, compliance professionals, and technical specialists. 2023, Ulf Mattsson, Controlling Privacy and the Use of Data Assets, volume 2, CRC Press, →ISBN:
   • Daisy Ridley has reawakened the debate over “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s” biggest reveal, saying that the character of Rey’s lineage wasn’t clear to her even partway through filming the final chapter of the trilogy. 2020 September 9, Brian Lowry, “Daisy Ridley reawakens the ‘Star Wars’ debate over Rey’s lineage”, in CNN, archived from the original on 20 Apr 2026:
   • They traced the ancient lineages of two species to reveal the insects' lengthy history of asexual reproduction. 2011 July 19, Ella Davies, “Stick insects survive one million years without sex”, in BBC, archived from the original on 27 Sep 2016:
   • Accept this welcome to the Spartan court; / The waſte of nature let the feaſt repair, / Then your high lineage and your names declare: / Say from what ſcepter'd anceſtry ye claim, / Recorded eminent in deathleſs fame? 1725, Homer, “Book IV”, in [Elijah Fenton], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume I, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC, page 146:
   • Theſe Anius Ueres [Marcus Annius Verus, father of Marcus Aurelius] was a lygnage, that auanced them to be deſcẽded [descended] of Numa Pompilio, and of Quintꝰ [Quintus] Curtius the famous Romayn: […] 1531 March 20 (date written; Gregorian calendar), [Antonio de Guevara], “Of the Byrth and Lygnage of Marke Aurele Anthony Emperour”, in John Bourcher knyghte Lord Barners [i.e., John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners], transl., The Golden Boke of Marcus Aurelius Emperour and Eloquent Oratour, London: […] Thomæ Bertheleti […], published 1535, →OCLC, signature [A.iv.], verso:
2. (countable, qualifier:press, uncountable) A number of lines of text in a column.
   • These are mere excerpts of longer pieces by Sullivan on Boy George, and I have left out more pieces because of the limits of space. Let me add, the lineage in Sullivan's column devoted to Boy George in 1984 exceeds the lineage in the rest of the Herald devoted to all news of gays and lesbians in the same period of time. 1981 December 1, Ronnie Allen, “The Herald: Shunning and Insulting”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 20, page 4:
   • Total newspaper advertising lineage in the North Atlantic region 1927, William Leonard Crum, Advertising Fluctuations, Seasonal and Cyclical:
3. (countable, uncountable) A fee or rate paid per line of text.

Forms

Deriveds

lineage temple · intralineage · hemilineage · matrilineage · patrilineal lineage · osteolineage · matrilineal lineage · female lineage · lineage zone · lineaging · patrilineage · superlineage · male lineage · bilineage · unilineage · lineaged · matrilateral lineage · multilineage · trilineage · interlineage · sublineage

Relateds

line · lineal · genealogy · linear

Translations (89)

ga ginealach (descent) · fr descendance (descent) · de Abstammungreihe (descent) · de Zeilenzahl (number of lines) · gd sìol (descent) · es estirpe (descent) · tr soy (descent) · cs rod (descent) · mi kaha (descent) · ga líne (descent) · uk родові́д (descent) · bg брой редове (number of lines) · az soy (descent) · nl afkomst (descent) · de Geschlecht (descent) · ms zuriat (descent) · es prosapia (descent) · sk rod (descent) · fi rivihinta (fee or rate paid per line of text) · az nəsil (descent) · fr lignage (descent) · it lignaggio (descent) · enm lynage (descent) · ota صوی (descent) · uk похо́дження (descent) · it stirpe (descent) · pt linhagem (descent) · sw kizazi (number of lines) · fo ætt (descent) · fi esivanhemmat (descent) · fi rivimäärä (number of lines) · pl rodowód (descent) · bg произход (descent) · he שׁוֹשֶׁלֶת (descent) · la prōsāpia (descent) · fr lignage (number of lines) · tr nesil (descent) · ml വംശപാരമ്പര്യം (descent) · mh bwij (descent) · es linaje (descent) · gl liñaxe (descent) · qu awkikuna (descent) · fo ættarslag (descent) · nl afstamming (descent) · sw kizazi (descent) · nb kjønn (descent) · es alcurnia (descent) · gl fruxe (descent) · sv härstamning (descent) · yi ייִחוס (descent) · it righe (number of lines) · ru происхожде́ние (descent) · la stirps (descent) · nl geslacht (descent) · fr lignée (descent) · pt estirpe (descent) · gv sheel (descent) · ru родосло́вная (descent) · cmn 按行費率 /按行费率 (fee or rate paid per line of text) · hu származás (descent) · de Abstammung (descent) · eu narea (descent) · de Abstammunglinie (descent) · es abolengo (descent) · hu eredet (descent) · gd sinnsearachd (descent) · fi sukujuuret (descent) · nl lijnental (number of lines) · ota ذریت (descent) · hi वंश (descent) · nl nakomelingschap (descent) · mi tātai (descent) · el γενεαλογία (descent) · it discendenza (descent) · cmn 血統 /血统 (descent) · de Zeilengebühr (fee or rate paid per line of text) · fa تبار (descent) · cy tras (descent) · ota نسل (descent) · hi कुल (descent) · tr köken (descent) · ro descendență (descent) · ca llinatge (descent) · ru число́ строк (number of lines) · cy achau (descent) · cmn 行數 /行数 (number of lines) · pt descendência (descent) · gd sliochd (descent) · ro filiație (descent)