1. in medical genetics, a pictorial representation of the history of an illness in a family. It depicts the relationship of family members and—for each member—current status (alive or not), the date of diagnosis, kind of relevant illness, age at diagnosis, and other data. By reviewing this pedigree, geneticists can often estimate other family members’ likelihood of developing the illness.

2. family lineage or ancestry, especially when this is regarded as distinguished or notable.

3. the line of descent of a purebred animal, or a record of such descent.