Emily Dickinson Lexicon

pedigree, n. [Fr. pie de grue, crane's foot.] (webplay: lineage).

1. Prestigious bloodline; family connections; documentation of belonging to a reputable lineage; [fig.] social status; proof of important position in society.
2. Ancestry; [fig.] origin; source.
3. [Fig.] beginning; birth; genesis; dawning; period of creation.