Ancestry
/ˈæn.ses.tri/
nounB2
Definition
Ancestry is the history of your family, especially the people you are related to from many years ago. It shows where your family comes from and who your older relatives were. People often look at their ancestry to learn about their roots and family story.
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⚡ See It in Action
The line of family members from the past
- •She studied her ancestry to find out where her great-grandparents lived.
- •His ancestry includes people from many different countries.
- •Many people use DNA tests to learn about their ancestry.
The origin or background of a person or group
- •The ancestry of this tribe goes back thousands of years.
- •Understanding your ancestry can help you learn about your health risks.
🧲 Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "ancestry" like "family," but not just your parents or brothers—your family from a long time ago, like grandparents and beyond.
- ✓Picture a big tree with many branches; each branch is a family member from the past, and ancestry is the whole tree’s roots and branches.
- ✓It’s the feeling when you look at old photos or hear stories about your great-grandparents and feel connected to them.
- ✓Sounds like “AN-ses-tree” → imagine a tree full of old family pictures hanging on its branches.
- ✓Think about family stories told during holidays that connect you to people you never met.
- ✓NOT like "family" (only people you see now), ancestry includes many past generations you may not know personally.
- ✓NOT like "heritage" (which is culture and traditions), ancestry is about the people themselves and their bloodline.
🔄 Try Other Words
- •Lineage: the direct line of ancestors (Use when focusing on a straight family line from parent to child)
- •Heritage: traditions and culture passed down (Use when emphasizing culture, not people)
- •Roots: origin or background (Use in casual speech to mean where your family comes from)
🔍 Unboxing
- •Word parts: "ance-" (a form related to "ancestor") + "-stry" (a noun suffix showing a state or condition)
- •Etymology: From Old French "ancestrie," from Latin "antecessor" meaning "one who goes before"
- •Historical development: Used since the 14th century to mean family descent or origin
- •Modern usage: Commonly used in genealogy, history, and personal identity to describe family origins
💭 Reflect & Connect
•How can knowing your ancestry help you understand who you are today?
•In what ways can ancestry influence a person’s culture, beliefs, or choices?
Fill in the blanks with the correct word:
1.People often research their ancestry to learn about their ___ and family history.
2.Ancestry shows the family members who lived ___ many years ago.
3.Unlike just "family," ancestry includes many ___ you may never have met.
4.When someone says "my ancestry is from Italy," they mean their family ___ comes from there.
5.DNA tests can help reveal unknown parts of a person’s ancestry and ___.
6.Understanding your ancestry can sometimes explain certain ___ traits or health conditions.
7.Ancestry is different from heritage because it focuses on the people, not the ___ they pass down.