pedigree

Etymology

Recorded from the early 15th century;^[1] the OED's earliest quotation is from 1410.^[2] From Middle English pedegru, borrowed from Anglo-Norman pé de grue (“crane's foot”),^[3][4] a variant of Old French pied de gru,^[1][5] from Latin pēs “foot” + grūs “crane”.^[3][5]

The name refers to a mark of three curved lines, resembling a bird's foot, used to show descent in old genealogies.^[2][1] The sense is not attested in Old French,^[1] and the English form was perhaps influenced by association with degree.^[1]

References

1. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
2. [1] [2] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. [1] [2] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. [1] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. [1] [2] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org