Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PED'I-GREE, n. [probably from L. pes, pedis, foot, like D. stam, G. stamm, stem, stock, degree.]

1. Lineage; line of ancestors from which a person or tribe descends; genealogy. Alterations of surnames have obscured the truth of pedigree. – Camden.
2. An account or register of a line of ancestors. The Jews preserved the pedigrees of their several tribes. – Atterbury.