Genealogy Glossary

Here you find a glossary of genealogical terms. For terms appearing in Gramps see Gramps Glossary.

 A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

A

Affinity

close relationship or connection. In secular law, cultural anthropology, or religious canon; it refers to a kinship relationship created (or that exists) between two persons as a result of marriage. May also include kinship by sexual congress, adoption or indirectly via a step relationship.
(Note that Catholic canon states 'affinity does not beget affinity'... that is, a spouse's siblings have no relationship by marriage to the other spouse's siblings. Thus multiple siblings of one family marrying siblings of another family would have no incestuous implications due to affinity.)

Anglicisation

process of making something (such as a surname) into an English variant

C

Consanguinity

From the Latin term "consanguinitās"; meaning ‘a quality of the same blood’ (deconstructed: CON- meaning ‘with’ or ‘together’ + SANGUIS/SANGUIN meaning ‘blood’ + -ITAS a suffix meaning ‘having a distinctive attribute/quality of’; an affix turning a noun into the adjective form )
relationship by descent from a common ancestor; kinship

Words Related To Consanguinity:
lineage, agnate, cognate, affiliation, kindred, strain, connection, race, affinity, kin, brotherhood, sisterhood, kinship, filiation, kindredship

D

DNA

1. acronym: deoxyribonucleic acid
2. a nucleic acid that carries genetic information

F

Family Tree

1. generic: a representation of Genealogical data
2. in Gramps: a set of Genealogical data collected into a database file

G

GEDCOM

1. acronym: Genealogy Data Communication
2. a format for exchanging genealogy data

genealogy

1. the organized historical accounting of the descent of something that can be traced from an progenitor
2. the study of ancestral and descendant lines

I

inst.

From the Latin term "instante mense" meaning "this month". (Sometimes it would be written as "instant" or using the 'long s' "inſtant" typesetting.) An anachronistic newspaper term sometimes used in obituaries. So, the phrase "3rd inst." included in a 26 Dec 1766 obituary means 3 December 1766. See also prox. and ult.

L

LDS IGI

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes abbreviated as LDS) International Genealogical Index (IGI) reference identification system. The Ancestral File, Pedigree Resource File, and International Genealogical Index are records systems in the LDS system.

M

matronym

personal name based on the name of one's mother

N

né, née

meaning 'had been born', in masculine and feminine variants. Signifies the following surname was used prior to a name change. The change is not merely due to marriage, it can be for any reason including stage & pen names. Often omits the accent and gender distinction when used as the 'nee' loanword from the past participle of the French base term: naître (to be born). Commonly assumed to mean 'formerly' in American documents... which exceeds the original intent of specifically indicating a birthname. See Maiden and married names on Wikipedia

nickname

A diminutive (familiar, pet) pseudonym.
A linguistic stretch has been posited with the theory that the word is based on "an eke name" (an additional name) which became "an ekename" then by misdivision became "a nekename" to finally "a nickname." This is based on 'eke' from Old English 'eaca,' meaning "an increase"

P

patronym

personal name based on the name of one's father (The adjective patronymic means derived from one's father while avonymic is derived from one's grandfather. When used as a noun, it refers to a name of that derivation.)

prox.

From the Latin term "proximo mense" meaning "next month". An anachronistic newspaper term sometimes used in obituaries. So, the phrase "3rd ult." included in a 26 Dec 1766 obituary means not just the following month but also the following calendar year and would refer to 3 January 1767. See also inst. and ult.

R

recte

From the Latin term "recte" meaning "rightly, correctly". Used parenthetically in a verbatim quotation clarify an ambiguous error in the original. (In contrast, the Latin term "sic" notes an unambiguous error without correcting it.) See also recte definition

Romanization

linguistic representation of a word in the Roman (Latin) alphabet

S

sic

From the Latin term "sic" meaning "thus, so". Used parenthetically in a verbatim quotation to denote "it was as thus" -- that an obvious error is maintained as in the original. (In contrast, the Latin term "recte" notes an ambiguous error with correction.) See also sic definition

U

ult.

From the Latin term "ultimo mense" meaning "last month". An anachronistic newspaper term sometimes used in obituaries. So, the phrase "26th ult." included in a 3 January 1767 obituary means not just the previous month but also the previous calendar year and would refer to 26 Dec 1766. See also inst. and prox.