noun
Refers to a lineage or family line continuing over multiple generations. Often used in historical contexts.
その家は譜代の家柄として知られている。
That family is known as a lineage of successive generations.
noun
hereditary daimyo (Tokugawa-era)
Historical abbreviation of 譜代大名. Refers to daimyo whose families had served Tokugawa Ieyasu before the Battle of Sekigahara.
See also: 譜代大名
譜代は関ヶ原の戦い以前から徳川家に仕えていた大名を指す。
Fudai refers to daimyo who had served the Tokugawa family since before the Battle of Sekigahara.
The kanji 譜 (record, genealogy) and 代 (generation) combine to convey the idea of a recorded lineage. The historical daimyo sense is an abbreviation of 譜代大名.