Lineage glossary
Big-Little Lineage Terms
Greek-life lineage uses a vocabulary that general family-tree software rarely explains well. This glossary helps members, recruits, and officers understand the terms chapters use when building, exporting, and sharing family trees.
Core mentorship terms
These are the relationships most chapters document first when creating a lineage tree.
- Big: the older member who mentors a newer member.
- Little: the newer member in that direct mentorship relationship.
- Grand-Big: your big’s big, similar to a grandparent in the lineage structure.
- Grand-Little: your little’s little in the next generation down.
- Twin or Co-Little: a member who shares the same big.
Branch, line, and family structure terms
Chapters often name branches after themes, founders, or traditions. Digital tree tools need to support those labels without forcing generic genealogy language.
- Branch or Family Line: a distinct lineage path inside the chapter.
- Line Name: a chapter-specific label for a branch or family group.
- Line Brother / Line Sister: members who share branch identity beyond a single big-little pair.
- Family Color or Line Color: visual styling some chapters use to distinguish branches on exported trees.
- Alumni Badge: in ChapterLine, a marker showing a tree node is linked to an alumni profile.
Terms chapters use when maintaining the archive
Officers and historians also use workflow language when keeping lineage current across semesters.
- Roster Import: uploading a chapter spreadsheet to create or update private directory profiles without creating tree nodes.
- Canvas Tree Import: uploading formatted lineage CSV data to create tree nodes and Big-Little links.
- Big Link: the edge that connects a little to their big in the tree structure.
- Archive Mode: preserving a graduated or historical tree as read-only.
- Public Org Page: the chapter profile where public trees, donations, or summaries may appear.
Why glossary pages matter
Definition-style pages are useful for search snippets and AI summaries because the content is concise, direct, and easy to quote accurately.
They also help new members understand the tree before editing or importing roster data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all chapters use the same lineage terms?
No. Most chapters share core terms like big, little, and twin, but branch names and lineage labels can vary by organization and campus tradition.
Can a lineage tool support chapter-specific terms?
Yes. ChapterLine is flexible enough for chapters that use different labels while still presenting the core family-tree structure clearly.
What is a grand-big in practice?
If your big is Alex and Alex’s big is Jordan, Jordan is your grand-big. Tree software represents that as two mentorship hops up the lineage.
How do twins appear in a digital tree?
Twins share one big. In ChapterLine, that means multiple littles connect to the same parent node in the tree graph.
Map the terms into a real chapter tree
Once members understand the vocabulary, the next step is giving the chapter a shared place to document, export, and preserve it.