genealogy: Meaning and Definition of

ge•ne•al•o•gy

1. a record or account of the ancestry and descent of a person, family, group, etc.
2. the study of family ancestries and histories.
3. descent from an original form or progenitor; lineage; ancestry.
4. a group of individuals or species having a common ancestry: The various species of Darwin's finches form a closely knit genealogy.