Common Genealogy Words
Below is a selected definition of words as they apply to genealogy.
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, www.dictionary.oed.com
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 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.
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.
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.
feme covert - a married woman.
feme sole - a single woman.
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.
hope chest – a wedding chest, also known as a dower chest.
intestate - a person who dies without making a valid will.
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}
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.
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.
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.
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}
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.
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.
testament - written instructions in a will as to the disposition of property and the body of the deceased.
writ - a written order issued by a court.