古フランス語のpied de gru, swan's pawから、語源はfootと同じpied, foot, de, of, gru, swan, 語源はcraneと同じ。後に綴りが一般化し、系図を指すのに使われるようになった。系図が白鳥の足のようであることから名付けられた。派生語源はpedigree, lineageなど。
英語の語源
pedigree
pedigree: [15] Etymologically, pedigree means ‘crane’s-foot’. It comes from Anglo-Norman *pe de gru, pe meaning ‘foot’ (from Latin pēs) and gru ‘crane’ (from Latin grūs). The notion behind the metaphor is that a bird’s foot, with its three splayed-out toes, resembles the branching lines drawn to illustrate a family tree. => crane, geranium
pedigree (n.)
early 15c., "genealogical table or chart," from Anglo-French pe de gru, a variant of Old French pied de gru "foot of a crane," from Latin pedem accusative of pes "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)) + gruem (nominative grus) "crane," cognate with Greek geranos, Old English cran; see crane (n.)).
On old manuscripts, "descent" was indicated by a forked sign resembling the branching lines of a genealogical chart; the sign also happened to look like a bird's footprint. Form influenced in Middle English by association with degree. Meaning "ancestral line" is mid-15c.; of animals, c. 1600. Related: Pedigreed.
例文
1. Hammer 's business pedigree almost gua-ranteed him the acquaintance of U.S.presidents.
ハマーのビジネス背景は、米国大統領と知り合いになることをほぼ保証している。
2.She had an impeccable aristocratic pedigree .
彼女は純正な貴族の血統を持っている。
3.The champions really showed their pedigree today.
今日の優勝者は確かに純種系譜を示している。
4.Like any other commodity， pedigree dogs are covered by the Sale of Goods Act.
他の商品のように、純種犬の売買も同様に「貨物売買法」に拘束されている。
5.A pedigree pup should have been inoculated against serious diseases before it 's sold.