1. Ancestral descent or lineage.
2. Ancestors considered as a group.

[Middle English auncestrie, alteration (influenced by auncestre) of Old French ancesserie, from ancessour, ancestor, from Latin antecessor. See ancestor.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.