lineage

Where does the word "lineage" come from? It comes from Latin linea, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Lineage’s story begins in Latin: linea meant “linen thread, line.” From 'linum', flax. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as lignage. A line of ancestors. It reached English by 1300s as lineage. 'lineage' in biology dates from the 1900s. Today, lineage means direct descent from an ancestor.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient linea "linen thread, line", from 'linum', flax.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval lignage "line of descent", a line of ancestors.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s lineage "ancestry", 'lineage' in biology dates from the 1900s.