Throughout history, the term pedigree (meaning “genealogical chart”) has undergone various changes in spelling. Early forms include pedegre, peedegrue, pedegree, pedegrw, pedygru, petygru, pedegru, pedigrew, peedegre, and petit degree. These spellings were influenced by folk etymology. The word’s origin can be traced back to 1425 when it was pe-de-grew, derived from the Anglo-Norman phrase pe de grue, meaning “foot of a crane.” This connection was based on a perceived visual similarity between avian claws and a genetic tree. The earlier Old French term pied de gru also contributed to its evolution. Pied comes from the Latin word for foot, pes, which can be traced back to Proto-Indo-European ped, meaning “foot.” On the other hand, gru is derived from Latin grus (“crane”) and Proto-Indo-European gerh, which could mean “to cry hoarsely.”