I’ll admit it right now; I am just one of those people that are fascinated by words. Ever since I was a child I have loved words, and even today learning a new word or two, or even more makes me very excited. The art of genealogy has a language all its own, and as I learn more and more about it I am picking up more new words.
Here are a few recent “discoveries” that I have added to my genealogy vocabulary. Hopefully you will find them helpful in that you may not need to run for the nearest dictionary when you come across them in your research.
Eorlcundman – a difficult to spell word that indicates that someone was a man of noble birth.
Parens Meus – A handy Latin term meaning “my relative” that is used when you are not sure exactly what relation that relative is.
Borough – A self-governing town that is larger than a village. There are many “boroughs” in the Northeastern United States. I used to live in Massachusetts, and many of the towns have names that end in “borough” or “boro” like Boxborough, Attleboro, Marlborough, Tyngsboro, Southborough, and Westborough.
Relict and Relictus, widow and widower.
Gateway ancestor – an ancestor who provides a link from one time period to another.
Tory – A resident of the American Colonies who remained loyal to England during the Revolutionary War.
Denizen – A foreigner that was given certain rights of citizenship. For example, in England a denizen could buy and own land.
I found these words and many others in Randy’s Genealogical Dictionary on Rootsweb. This online “dictionary” is the first place that I go to when I come across an unfamiliar term in my genealogical research. I like this resource because it has a lot of practical definitions as well as a lot of obscure but really funny terms. For example, did you know that a reredorter is the building containing the latrines at a monastery? How about a garderobe? That is a toilet which was built into a castle wall that projects out over a moat. What are your favorite obscure genealogy terms?
Photo by ardelfin on morguefile.com