bloodline
1. The direct line of genetic descent between people or animals; a person's or animal's ancestry or pedigree. Only a person of the royal bloodline may ascend to the throne. The racehorse hails from a bloodline that has seen dozens of champions throughout the years. A man of our prestigious bloodline can't marry a commoner like her!
2. By extension, the figurative line of descent characterized by something's predecessors, as for a product. The operating system's bloodline goes back to the nascent days of home computers. You are paying a premium price because of the reputation of the smartphone's bloodline, whether or not it really is superior to others on the market. We need a long-standing employee to explain these elements of the software's bloodline to the board.
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