lineage

Etymology

From Middle English linage, from Old French linage, from ligne, from Latin linea (“line”); equivalent to line + -age.

noun

1. Descent in a line from a common progenitor; progeny; descending line of offspring or ascending line of parentage.
   They traced the ancient lineages of two species to reveal the insects' lengthy history of asexual reproduction. July 19, 2011, Ella Davies, “Stick insects survive one million years without sex”, in BBC
2. (advertising) A number of lines of text in a column.
   Total newspaper advertising lineage in the North Atlantic region 1927, William Leonard Crum, Advertising Fluctuations, Seasonal and Cyclical
3. A fee or rate paid per line of text.