Patrilineage

noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Lineage based upon the paternal line; a group of descendants related through a common male lineage. countable, uncountable

    "By 1770, the Xhosa branch of the Nguni-speakers were organised at three levels: patrilineages, consisting of the descendants of a known common ancestor; patriclans, composed of a number of lineages, all claiming descent from a putative common ancestor; and chiefdoms which were political units, each occupying a certain area under a chief."

  2. 2
    line of descent traced through the paternal side of the family wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
affiliationagnationagnationallianceancestryblood

Example

More examples

"By 1770, the Xhosa branch of the Nguni-speakers were organised at three levels: patrilineages, consisting of the descendants of a known common ancestor; patriclans, composed of a number of lineages, all claiming descent from a putative common ancestor; and chiefdoms which were political units, each occupying a certain area under a chief."

Etymology

From patri- + lineage.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.