also: ばつえい
Refers to a person who is descended from a particular ancestor, family, or lineage. Often used in historical or genealogical contexts.
He is said to be a descendant of a famous warlord.
Descendants of former nobility still live in this village.
He is said to be a descendant of a certain warlord.
That family claims to be descendants of the Minamoto clan.
後裔 is an equally formal, literary word for descendant, but lacks 末裔's nuance of being the final or remote heir of a line.
祖先 means ancestor, the opposite end of a lineage from 末裔, which means descendant.
Standard kanji spelling; the reading まつえい is the most common.
Alternate reading ばつえい is less common and may be encountered in older or formal texts.
Mixed kanji-kana spelling sometimes used when the second kanji is considered difficult or uncommon.
A Sino-Japanese compound of 末, “end” or “later generation,” and 裔, “descendants,” collectively denoting descendants or posterity.