This file contains many of the common "buzzwords", terminology and legal words found in genealogy work. If you think of any words that should be added to this list, please notify Randy Jones.
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BACH
[Welsh small, little]
BACHELOR
in Medieval times, young knight in the service of another knight
BACHGEN
[Welsh boy] See also ap/ab, map.
BAILEY
the yard within a castle's walls
BAILIFF
(1) a manorial official charged
with collecting rents and other administrative duties, including oversight of
agriculture
(2) a town official and principle
aide to the mayor, sometimes with his own court
(3) the municipal official in
charge of the jail
(4) the official presiding over the
Hundred Court
BAKR
[Arabic] first-born
BALCH
[Welsh fine, proud, splendid] See also valch
BALLISTA
[Latin] cross-bow
BALLISTARIUS
[Latin] a cross-bow man
BALK
a ridge between two furrows; a
strip of unploughed land between two plowed areas
BAN
a royal or ecclesiastical
proclamation
BANALITIES
fees a feudal lord imposed for
the use of his property or facilities
BANE,
BAN, BAIN
[Scottish] pale or white, usually of hair
BANN
a public announcement of an
intended marriage to allow advance notice should someone desire to
protest. In medieval and colonial times, many churches would read the
banns on three consecutive Sundays prior to the marriage
BANNERET
a British rank of knight, it
represented originally a knight with the honor of leading his men into a battle
under his own banner and with rank above a Knight Bachelor . It is distinct
from Baronet. -- Jay Kotliar
BANNS
publication or posting of the
announcement of a coming marriage, a period of time before the actual marriage,
to allow advance notice to those that might have reason to protest. In most
churches, the banns were read aloud in church on three successive Sundays.
BANU
[Arabic, sons of] designation of tribe
BAPTISM
FOR THE DEAD
members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS- Mormans) have the
ceremony of Baptism for the Dead, performed by living individuals on behalf of
the dead family members. These living individuals represent the person for whom
the baptism is being performed. The baptism ceremony is simple and dignified
and not much different from the baptism performed when a living individual
joins the church. Baptisms for the dead are performed only in the temples of
the church.
BAPTIZAVI
[Latin I baptized]
BAR
[Syriac] son of
BAR
MITZVAH
A Jewish celebration for a boy when he becomes 13 years old
and is accepted into the congregation
BAR
SINISTER
[heraldic] a misnomer for bend
sinister, coming from the translation of the French equivalent barre sinistre
BARBICAN
the gateway defending the
entrance to a castle
BARD
BARON
a feudal title, below earl/count in
rank, originally signifying just "companion to the king", but later
assuming territorial responsibilities. In England, barons are designated by writ of Parliament
BARONETCY
[Brit.] an hereditary dignity (but not peerage) created by
James I to produce revenue, the holder of which is accorded the prefix of 'Sir'
and the suffix of 'Baronet' to his name. The suffix is invariably abbreviated
in correspondence, usually 'Bt' but the more
old-fashioned 'Bart.' is sometimes preferred. in order
of preference, a Baronet ranks below all ranks of peerage, but above all other
dignities.
BARONY
BY WRIT
[Eng.] assumption of the
honor based on the King's writ of summons to attend Parliament. At first, the honor was only
temporal to the session served, but after the 14th C., the writ was considered
to be permanent and hereditary.
BARRISTER
lawyer
BARRY
BASE
BORN
BASILEUS
[Byzantine] initially from the first century on a prince,
later became "king", especially in the eastern provinces. Later
the title was reserved only for the Eastern Roman and the Persian emperors
BASTION
a small tower on a castle wall
BATON
SINISTER
[heraldic] a bend sinister usually
one-forth the size of a bend sinister. Sometimes only
referred to as Baton, it also indicates illegitimacy
BATTEN
the sloping part of a castle
curtain wall
BATTLEMENT
a narrow wall built along the
walk wall of a castle to protect defenders
BEG,
BEY
[Turkish] lord or prince
BEND
[heraldic] One of
the ordinaries.
It is formed of two lines, and is drawn from the dexter chief (upper left) to the sinister
base point (lower right) of the escutcheon.
It generally occupies one-fifth of the field; but formerly it was one-fifth
only when plain, and one-third when charged.
BEND
SINISTER
[heraldic] a slash to the left held
to signify bastardy; a hint or proof of illegitimate birth.
BENDLET
[heraldic] a bend
as two or more thin bars
BENEFICE
a grant of land given to a
noble or the church, usually for limited use or in return for specified
services
BENEFICIARY
a person who receives the
proceeds or income of an estate or trust
BEQUEST
legacy; usually a gift of real
estate by will
BERM
a flat space between a castle
wall and the moat
BEZANT
[Heraldic] small dot
BEZANTY
[Heraldic] a series of solid dots
BIBLIOGRAPHY
list of sources.
BILLET
[Heraldic] a small vertical bar
BILLHOOK
a medieval weapon similar to a halberd, the carrier of which was call a billman
BILLMAN
a carrier of a billhook
BIN
[Arabic] son of}
BINDING
OUT
[Colonial U.S.] in
colonial English America, church wardens
were empowered to bind out, contract into servitude, any bastard, or orphan or
other person under 30, so that they might not become an economic burden on the
church parish
BINT
[Arabic] daughter of
BIRELE
a cup-bearer
BIRTH
CERTIFICATE
documentation about one's birth.
BIRTHRIGHT
In New England, the eldest son received a double portion of
the estate, it was called his birthright. If you should find a person has
conveyed a 1/7 interest in the father's estate, you may conclude there were six
surviving children, each of whom received a 1/7 of the estate, except for the
eldest son, who received a 2/7 or double portion.
BLACK
CANKER
[Archaic] diphtheria
BLACK
DEATH
bubonic plague. A disease prevalent
in the middle ages, but still occurring in third world countries, transmitted
by fleas from rats.
BLACK
DUTCH
·
Sephardic
Jews who married Dutch protestants to escape the Inquisition, many of their
descendants later moving to the Americas, the "black" referring to
their dark hair and complexion;
·
Descendents of marriages between Dutch women and Portuguese soldiers
stationed in the Netherlands as part of Spanish forces in the Spanish-Dutch
wars 1555-1609.
·
See
also Melungeons.
·
Perhaps
rarely, German immigrants c.1740 from the Black Forest region,
·
Early
19th C. American Indians who claimed they were "Black Dutch" to avoid
persecution or deportation to reservations
BLACKFRIARS
see DOMINICANS
BLACK
LUNG
a disease from breathing coal
dust
BLODWIT
americament by court for bloodshed
BLOODEAGLE
a medieval Norse method of
execution. The victim's ribs were removed from the spine, then
lungs pulled out to resemble angel's wings.
BLOODY
FLUX
See flux
BLOT
a sacrifice or offering to
idols
BOL
[Welsh belly] Also as 'bwl'.
BOLD-GAETAL
[Anglo-Saxon] a lord's estate
BOLTING-HOUSE
a building where the bran is
sifted from flour
BONA
[Latin] in good faith
BOND
(1) a written promise by a borrower
to pay a lender a fixed dollar sum of interest for a prescribed period of time
and to repay the principal on a stated date;
(2) a contract to carry out
specific duties, such as a marriage, for which if not done satisfactorily, a
penalty is paid
BONDE
(1) head of a family
(2) a freeman serving as a vassal
BONDLAND
land which also
contained dwelling houses and other buildings (such as barns) and was usually
held by copyhold or charter
BONDMAID/BONDMAN
a slave or serf required to
serve with wages, See also NATIVI.
BONDSMAN
a person who will vouch for or
be liable for a person required to post a bond. This person can either be
a friend/relative or a professional bondsman
BONNIER
[Old French] approximately 10 arpents
BOON-WORK
a day's work, given to a lord
by his people on special occasion
BORDAR/BORDERER
a small landholder, the serf
class between cottars and villeins. They
held just enough land to support their family, about five acres, and were
required to work as part of the lord's demesne.
BORH
surety
BORHBRYCE
breach of surety
BORDURE
[Heraldic] border
BOROUGH
[orig. Anglo-Saxon] a
self-governing incorporated town, larger than a village. The term is common in
the Northeastern U.S.
BOUND
OUT
Apprenticed or indentured out. Most often the child
was bound to a person in the community in the skilled trades. In
return for the labor that the child provided they were given food, shelter and
(sometimes) clothing. The families of the children being bound out were poor
and in many cases the children were orphans or the father of the family had
died and the mother could not provide for the children. The court
appointed an Overseer of the Poor who looked into these cases and reported to
the court.
BOUNTY
LAND
public land given by the government
to induce young men to join the military, or as a reward for fighting.
Much land in the Midwest (U.S.) was given to the veterans of the Revolutionary
War as a reward and payment for their time in the war.
BOUNTY
LAND WARRANT
a gift of bounty land due to a
person entitled by military service, or to his heirs or assigns
BOURGEOIS
[French] an address of formality or politeness in France
from the 16th C., usually for a non-noble person. However, a person addressed
as NN, bourgeois de [place] might be a noble man who was involved in town
affairs and wanted to keep the title bourgeois de [place] to maintain certain
tax breaks.
BOVATE
[Latin bos,
ox] a measure of land also known as an oxgang. It was 1/8 of a ploughgate (or as much land as one ox could plough in a
year). A bovate varyied
in acreage from 8 to 18 acres, depending on how arable the land was.
BRAND
IRON
the cob irons or fire dogs which
confine the brands on an open hearth.
BRAS
[Welsh] fat
BRIDEWEALTH
goods and services transferred
from a groom's family to a brides family
BROTBAN
bread money
BROTHER
a male sibling, or a half brother, stepbrother, brother-in-law, husband of a
sister-in-law, or a Brother in Church. Sometimes it is also used to show close
friendship.
BROWDERER
[Archaic] embroiderer
BRYCE
BUFFET
the dubbing administered to a
new knight. See also COLEE.
BUNDLING
to sleep in the same bed while
fully clothed, a practice commonly practiced by engaged couples in early New
England It also houses an extensive collection of written manuscripts including
family histories, local histories, indexes, periodicals, and aids to help in
genealogical research
BURDATIO
BURGAGE
[English] a town plot, the holder of which was known as a burgess
BURGBRICE
BURGESS
[English] a freeman in a medieval town holding a burgage, a piece of land. Later in Virginia, the
term came to designate substantial wealthy landowners. The legislative
house there became known as the House of Burgesses, replaced after the
Revolution by the House of Delegates. Brent Tarter, LVA -- "From the
middle of the seventeenth century until ratification of the Constitution of
1830, every county in Virginia was entitled to elect two members of the lower
house of the assembly, the House of Burgesses through 1775 and the House of
Delegates from 1776 through 1830. At those elections, each adult white male who
owned enough property in the county could vote for two candidates. The cities
of Williamsburg and Norfolk each elected one burgess or delegate, and until the
Constitution of 1776 went into effect the president and professors of the
College of William and the residents of Jamestown each elected one burgess.
Cities that were incorporated after the American Revolution then gained the
right to return one or more delegates."
BURGHER
a town resident with full
rights and privileges of the town
BURGHRITE
jurisdiction over a town
BURH
a castle or dwelling
BUTTERY
[fr.
French le botelerie] a store room for beer,
wine and other staples
BYRBAN
beer money
BYZANT
a gold coin, the Byzantine solidus dating from about 500 AD and used
until the 13th Century
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{A}The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third
Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. {B} Black's Law Dictionary, 6th Edition {E} Evans, Barbara Jean. The New A to Zax {F}The Dictionary of Genealogy by Terrick V H Fitzhugh
{H} History of the Later Roman Empire, Vol.1, J.B. Bury,
1958. {O}The Oxford English Dictionary {R} Random House Unabridged Dictionary (2006) {Q} Hinshaw, William Wade, "Encyclopedia of America Quaker Genealogy," (1938,
Rpt., Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994) {W} Webster's Collegiate Dictionary; Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA,
Inc.Sources:
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