n. [ Of unknown origin; possibly fr. F. par degrés by degrees, -- for a pedigree is properly a genealogical table which records the relationship of families by degrees; or, perh., fr. F. pied de grue crane's foot, from the shape of the heraldic genealogical trees. ] 1. A line of ancestors; descent; lineage; genealogy; a register or record of a line of ancestors. [ 1913 Webster ]

Alterations of surnames . . . have obscured the truth of our pedigrees. Camden. [ 1913 Webster ]

His vanity labored to contrive us a pedigree. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

I am no herald to inquire of men's pedigrees. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Jews preserved the pedigrees of their tribes. Atterbury. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Stock Breeding) A record of the lineage or strain of an animal, as of a horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A clause sometimes inserted in contracts or specifications, requiring that a material of construction, as cement, must be of a brand that has stood the test of a specified number of years' use in an important public work. [ Cant, U. S. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]