Latin Genealogical Word List: Difference between revisions

Latin is the language of the Romans. Through the continuing influence of Roman civilization and the use of Latin by the Catholic Church many genealogical resources are written in Latin. This page provides information about the language, including grammar, and a Latin to English wordlist.<br>

==Usage==

Latin is an inflected language, meaning that the endings of words vary according to how the words are used in a sentence. ''Who—whose— whom or marry—marries—married'' are examples of words in English with variant forms. This word list gives the most commonly seen form of each Latin word. As you read Latin records, be aware that almost all words vary with usage.  

The ''case'' of a word describes how it is being used in a sentence. The main three cases are:  

This word list gives only the masculine form of adjectives. For example:  

Some words can be either masculine or feminine, such as ''patrinus'' (godfather) and ''patrina'' (godmother). This word list usually gives only the masculine form even though a feminine form may occur in Latin records. Thus, given the word ''famulus'' (servant), you can conclude that ''famula'' is a female servant. Similarly, this word list gives only ''natus est'' ("he was born"). You can conclude that ''nata est'' means "she was born." The plural form ''nati sunt'' means "they were born."

<br>Other noun endings change as follows to show possession:  

Example: ''sartor'' (tailor) changes to ''sartoris'' (of the tailor)

Spelling rules were not standardized in earlier centuries. The following spelling variations are common in Latin documents:  

Examples:  

==Additional Resources==

*Ainsworth, Robert. ''Ainsworth's Latin Dictionary''. Revised Edition. London, England: F. Westly and A.H. Davis, 1836. {{FSC|232221|title-id|disp=FS Catalog book 473 Ai65a 1836; film 599788}} - images; {{WorldCat|3951428|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}. '''''Online at:''''' [https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/idurl/1/606634 FamilySearch Digital Library].

The following sources can also be helpful for reading Latin records:  

In some genealogical records, numbers—especially dates—are written out. The following list gives the cardinal (1, 2, 3) and the ordinal (1st, 2nd, 3rd) versions of each number. Ordinal numbers are adjectives and may sometimes appear with the feminine ending ('''''-a''''') or the neuter ending ('''''-um'''''). In written dates the ordinal numbers usually end with the grammatical ending ('''''-o'''''). Example:  

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If smaller value numbers follow larger value numbers, add the values together. If a smaller value number precedes a larger value number, subtract the smaller from the larger. For example:  

In Latin records, dates are often written out. Numbers generally end with '''''-o''''' when used in a date. For example:  

To understand Latin dates, use the following lists as well as the preceding "Numbers" section.  

|inferior

|lower

|-

|infirmus

|morbus

|disease

|-

|more novo