Common Genealogy Words
Below is a selected definition of words as they apply to genealogy.
4to. - abbreviation of quarto, the size of a rare book made by folding an old printer's sheet of paper to form four leaves. A quarto book is typically 11 to 13 inches tall. The size can vary somewhat depending on whether the pages were trimmed.
8vo. - abbreviation of octavo, the size of a rare book made by folding an old printer's sheet of paper to form eight leaves. An octavo book is typically 8 to 9 inches tall.
aeg - all edges gilt. Used in the description of a rare book that contains gilt (gold foil) on the edges of the pages.
affinity - in genealogy this refers to a relationship by marriage.
attestation - the administration of an oath or evidence given by a witness. Commonly used for military enlistment.
banns – a public notice or announcement, usually in church, of an intended marriage.
beneficiary – someone that benefits from something. It is often the person designated to receive proceeds or benefits from a will.
blocked - a tree that has been marked for survey purposes.
BMD - birth, marriage, death records.
bn - born (date of birth).
bur - date of burial.
dsp - from the Latin decissit sine prole, died without children.
cadastral - a public record showing ownership of land.
call - the compass direction and distance that defines the perimeter of a piece of property. A property will have several calls.
canon law - law of the church.
census – a count of the population, usually includes various statistics about the population.
centenarian - someone who lives to be at least 100 years old.
chain - a measuring device traditionally used by a land surveyor to measure the size of a property. A chain is 66 feet.
Chapman Codes - three letter abbreviations used to identify historic administrative counties in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Christian name – the first and middle name given to a child at birth or baptism. Also called the given name.
citation – 1) a formal reference to a source of information. 2) an official summons to appear before a court.
cite – to quote an authority.
codicil - a supplement to a will.
col'd (abbreviation) - colored. Often found on old marriage records.
consanguineous – related by blood. For example, a consanguineous marriage is a marriage between blood relatives (the most common form being the marriage between cousins).
consideration – a payment given in return for a good or service.
decedent – the deceased person.
deed – a legal transfer of title.
descendant – originating from an ancestor.
descendant chart – a chart that lists all the descendants of an individual.
diaspora - a large scale migration or scattering of a people away from their ancestral homeland, often done by force.
dowager – a widow holding property or assets from her deceased husband. Also known as a tenant in dower.
dower – the portion of a deceased husband’s estate that is allotted to the wife.
dower chest – a wedding chest, also known as a hope chest.
dowry – the money or property that a woman brings to a marriage.
executor - the person responsible for carrying out the terms of a will.
feme covert - a married woman.
feme sole - a single woman.
fl. - from the Latin floreat, means an approximate date (used in the absence of a precise date).
freehold - in absolute possession of the land.
given name - the first and middle name given to a child at birth or baptism. Also called the Christian name.
grantee - the person recieving a property either through a gift or purchase.
grantor - the person giving a property either by a gift or through a sale.
homesteader - (US) a settler who was granted freehold title to undeveloped land outside the original 13 US colonies.
hope chest – a wedding chest, also known as a dower chest.
hulk - the term used for a prison ship during Victorian England times. Hulks were often decommissioned warships retrofitted with prison cells.
hundred - an administrative subdivision that existed in southern English counties prior to the 1974 government reorganization of the counties (see also wapentake).
ibid - term used to identify a document that has already been referenced.
inst. - the current month. Often seen in old letters, such as "We received your letter on the 18th inst."
intestate - a person who dies without making a valid will.
issue - a person's children or offspring.
JP - Justice of the Peace.
letter patent - an open letter issued by a government granting certain rights to a person such as an official title, a government office or land.
m - date of marriage. m2 would indicate date of second marriage
matrilocality – the custom in some ethnic and social groups where a couple settles in the woman’s home or community after marriage. {see also patrilocality}
Miracode - also known as American Soundex, it is a slight variation on Russell Soundex. See the article What is Soundex and How Does Soundex Work for a complete description.
miscellany - a collective mixture of writings on various subjects usually contained in one book. Miscellanies were popular in the 1400-1800s when paper was very expensive and often predate diaries for families as a form of recording everything from recipes to poems to scripture to day-to-day activities.
nd - no date. Used to indicate that a document has no date.
née - identifies a woman's maiden name, from the French word for born.
new date - a date recorded using the Gregorian Calendar, it was often written in old records and documents in the abbreviated form of n.d. See article for more details. {see also old date}
nuncupative will - an oral will given by a dying person in front of witnesses.
ob. - deceased, from the Latin obit.
oblate - devoted to a monastic life. In reference to children, it means that the parents devoted the child to a monastic life. Parents who could not look after their children sometimes did this instead of turning children over to orphanages or poorhouses.
old date - a date recorded using the Julian Calendar, it was often written in old records and documents in the abbreviated form of o.d. See article for more details. {see also new date}
onomastics - {also known as onomatalogy} - the study of the forms and origins of names.
otp - of this parish.
patrilocality - the custom in some ethnic and social groups where a couple settles in the man’s home or community after marriage. {see also matrilocality}
posthumous - after death. Sometimes children are referred to as posthumous, which means the child was born after the father's death.
probate - a copy of a legally valid will, usually held by a regional court.
Prosopography - a study of the collective characteristics of an historic group based on an examination of the individuals within the group.
proximo - used to refer to a date in the following month, from the Latin for 'next'.
redact - edited for publication, typically used where certain sensitive information is blacked out so it can not be read (in genealogy it is commonly used on birth certificates of adoptees to mask the identity of biological parents).
relict - the surviving spouse in a marriage.
riding - an administrative division of Yorkshire, from the old Danish word 'thriding' meaning a third part. Yorkshire was divided into North Riding, West Riding and East Riding.
sampler - a piece of embroidery used to showcase the needlework skills of an individual. It often included the name and date of the person who sewed the piece.
sexton - a church, congregation or synagogue officer charged with the maintenance of a graveyard and associated buildings.
sic - usually found within a quote, it usually indicates an unusual spelling, phrase or fact that may be incorrect.
sol. (abbreviation) - an attorney or solicitor.
Soundex - a filing system used in old US censuses where the family name was filed by the sound it made. It was used to cross-reference similar sounding names such as Smith and Smythe. See the article What is Soundex and How Does Soundex Work
testament - written instructions in a will as to the disposition of property and the body of the deceased.
testator - the person who made the will.
Tutor - guardian of an underaged person.
unm. - unmarried.
wapentake - an administrative subdivision of northern English counties (primarily Yorkshire) prior to the 1974 government reorganization of the counties. The word is Danish in origin and was used primarily in regions of England historically controlled by the Norse (see also hundred).
writ - a written order issued by a court.