My French Lineage

Bonjour ! Meet your French Ancestors

Do you read French? Glossary

Jump to: Days – Months – Numbers – Republican calendar – 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

Days of the week

  • Lundi = Monday
  • Mardi = Tuesday
  • Mercredi = Wednesday
  • Jeudi = Thursday
  • Vendredi = Friday
  • Samedi = Saturday
  • Dimanche = Sunday

Months of the Year

  • Janvier = January
  • Février = February
  • Mars = March
  • Avril = April
  • Mai = May
  • Juin = June
  • Juillet = July
  • Août = August
  • Septembre = (7bre in some old records) = September
  • Octobre = (8bre in some old records) = October
  • Novembre = (9bre in some old records) = November
  • Décembre = (Xbre in some old records) = December

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Numbers

  • 1 = Un = One
  • 2 = Deux = Two
  • 3 = Trois = Three
  • 4 = Quatre = Four
  • 5 = Cinq = Five
  • 6 = Six = Six
  • 7 = Sept = Seven
  • 8 = Huit = Eight
  • 9 = Neuf = Nine
  • 10 = Dix = Ten
  • 11 = Onze = Eleven
  • 12 = Douze = Twelve
  • 13 = Treize = Thirteen
  • 14 = Quatorze = Fourteen
  • 15 = Quinze = Fifteen
  • 16 = Seize = Sixteen
  • 17 = Dix-sept = Seventeen
  • 18 = Dix-huit = Eighteen
  • 19 = Dix-neuf = Nineteen
  • 20 = Vingt = Twenty
  • 30 = Trente = Thirty
  • 40 = Quarante = Forty
  • 50 = Cinquante = Fifty
  • 60 = Soixante = Sixty
  • 70 = Soixante-dix = Seventy
  • 80 = Quatre-vingt = Eighty
  • 90 = Quatre-vingt-dix = Ninety
  • 100 = Cent = One hundred
  • 1,000 = Mille (or Mil) = One thousand

For books (usually nobility books, such as “nobiliaires”)

  • Tome = Volume
  • Tome premier = Volume 1
  • Tome second (or deuxième) = Volume 2
  • Tome troisième = Volume 3
  • Tome quatrième = Volume 4
  • Tome cinquième = Volume 5
  • Tome sixième = Volume 6
  • Tome septième = Volume 7
  • Tome huitième = Volume 8
  • Tome neuvième = Volume 9
  • Tome dixième = Volume 10
  • Tome onzième = Volume 11
  • Tome douzième = Volume 12
  • Tome treizième = Volume 13
  • Tome quatorzième = Volume 14
  • Tome quinzième = Volume 15
  • Tome seizième = Volume 16
  • Tome dix-septième = Volume 17
  • Tome dix-huitième = Volume 18
  • Tome dix-neuvième = Volume 19
  • Tome vingtième = Volume 20

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Republican calendar (years)

  • An I (1) = Year I (1) = 22 September 1792
  • An II (2) = Year II (2) = 22 September 1793
  • An III (3) = Year III (3) = 22 September 1794
  • An IV (4) = Year IV (4) = 23 September 1795
  • An V (5) = Year V (5) = 22 September 1796
  • An VI (6) = Year VI (6) = 22 September 1797
  • An VII (7) = Year VII (7) = 22 September 1798
  • An VIII (8) = Year VIII (8) = 23 September 1799
  • An IX (9) = Year IX (9) = 23 September 1800
  • An X (10) = Year X (10) = 23 September 1801
  • An XI (11) = Year XI (11) = 23 September 1802
  • An XII (12) = Year XII (12) = 24 September 1803
  • An XIII (13) = Year XIII (13) = 23 September 1804
  • An XIV (14) = Year XIV (14) = 23 September 1805

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Republican calendar (months)

Mois d’automne (Fall/Autumn months): ending in -aire

  • Vendémiaire = 22/24 septembre – 21/23 octobre = 22/24 Sept. – 21/23 Oct.
  • Brumaire = 22/24 octobre – 20/22 novembre = 22/24 October – 20/22 November
  • Frimaire = 21/23 novembre – 20/22 décembre = 21/23 Nov. – 20/22 Dec.

Mois d’hiver (Winter months): ending in -ose

  • Nivôse = 21/23 December – 19/21 January
  • Pluviôse = 20/22 January – 18/20 February
  • Ventôse = 19/21 February – 20/21 March

Mois du printemps (Spring months): ending in -al

  • Germinal = 21/22 March – 19/20 April
  • Floréal = 20/21 April – 19/20 May
  • Prairial = 20/21 May – 18/19 June

Mois d’été (Summer months): ending in -idor

  • Messidor = 19/20 juin – 18/19 juillet = 19/20 June – 18/19 July
  • Thermidor = 19/20 juillet – 17/18 août = 19/20 July – 17/18 August
  • Fructidor = 18/19 août – 16/17 septembre = 18/19 August – 16/17 September

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A

  • Abbaye = abbey
  • Acte = certificate
  • Acte de baptême : baptism certificate
  • Acte de décès : death certificate
  • Acte d’état civil = civil registration of birth, marriage, death, burial, etc
  • Acte de mariage : marriage certificate
  • Acte de naissance : birth certificate
  • Acte de notaire (acte notarial) = document written by a notary
  • Adultérin / adultérine = born from extramarital relationship
  • Agnat / Agnatique : ascending or descending by men. It is a genealogy that only researches men.
  • Aïeul = grand-père = grandfather. (Bisaïeul : great-grandfather. Trisaïeul : great-great-grandfather)
  • Aïeule = grand-mère = grandmother. (Bisaïeule : great-grandmother. Trisaïeule : great-great-grandmother)
  • Aïeuls / aïeules = grandfathers, grandmothers
  • Aïeux = ancestors
  • Aîné / aînée = born first
  • An = year
  • Ancêtre = ancestor
  • Année = year
  • Année de début and année de fin = year (range), “from”… “to”…
  • Annuel / annuelle = yearly
  • Août = August
  • Après-midi = afternoon
  • Apparenté = related by marriage
  • Archives départementales = departmental archives
  • Archives en ligne = online archives
  • Archives militaires = military archives
  • Archives notariales = notary archives
  • Archives numérisées = digitized archives
  • Armoiries = coat of arms
  • Arrière-petits-enfants = great-grandchildren
  • Arrière-petit-fils = great-grandson
  • Arrière-petite-fille = great-granddaughter
  • Arrondissement = district (major cities have them, such as Paris, Lyon, and Marseille)
  • Ascendant = direct ancestor
  • Aucun résultat = no result (least favorite result on websites…)
  • Aujourd’hui = today (you might see “Le jour d’hui” in old records = the day of today)
  • Auteur = common ancestor to several branches (It’s a term usually used for nobility. For instance: “auteur de la deuxième branche” = ancestor of the second branch)
  • Avril = April

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B

  • Bans (de mariage) = marriage bans
  • Baptême = baptism
  • Bâtard / bâtarde = illegitimate child
  • Beau-frère = brother-in-law
  • Beau-père = father-in-law or stepfather
  • Belle-mère = mother-in-law or stepmother
  • Belle-sœur = sister-in-law
  • Bénédiction nuptiale = bridal blessing
  • Benjamin / benjamine = youngest child, last born, of the family
  • Bisaïeul : great-grandfather
  • Bisaïeule : great-grandmother
  • Blason = all the elements that make a heraldic shield
  • Blessé = wounded
  • Blessé par éclats d’obus = wounded by shrapnel pieces (you might find this information on a military record)
  • BMS (Baptêmes, Mariages et Sépultures) = abbreviation that designates the parish registers in which Baptisms, Marriages and burials were recorded
  • Bureau = office

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C

  • CA = abbreviation of the latin word “Circa” which means “approximately” (ca 1810 = about, around, approximately 1810)
  • Cadastre = public register indicating the surface and value of a home
  • Cadet / cadette = born second. It can also be the “branche cadette de la famille” = 2nd branch of the family)
  • Cartes postales = postcards
  • Cartulaire = cartulary or chartulary (register of copies, charters, title deeds, and other documents of a family or an institution such as a church, or an abbey)
  • Ce jour d’hui = today (old)
  • Célibataire = unmarried
  • Charte = charter (document concerning the property and titles of a family or institution proving their rights)
  • Chercher en ligne = search online
  • Choisir (un registre) = choose, pick (a register)
  • Cimetière = cemetery
  • Cliquez ici = click here
  • Cognat / cognatique = ascending or descending by women. It is a genealogy that only researches women.
  • Collatéral(e) / collatéraux = collateral (family member descending from a common ancestor (an oncle is a collateral).
  • Commune = municipality
  • Commune de naissance = place of birth
  • Conjoint / conjointe = spouse
  • Consanguin (consanguinité) = kinship on the paternal side
  • Contrat de mariage = marriage contract
  • Cote = numerical or alphabetical system used to classify archives
  • Cousin germain / cousine germaine = first cousin (son or daughter of one’s uncle or aunt. Cousins germains have the same grandparents)
  • Cousin issu de germain = second cousin (share the same great-grandparents)
  • Croix de Guerre = Cross of War (military decoration of France, first created in 1915. It was awarded in World War I, World War II, as well as in other conflicts).
  • Cultivateur / cultivatrice = farmer
  • Curé = priest

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D

  • Date de naissance = date of birth
  • Début = beginning (année de début and année de fin = year (range), “from”… “to”…)
  • Décembre = December (you might see “Xbre” in some old records)
  • Décès = death
  • Décennie = decade (tables décennales = 10-year index)
  • Défunt / défunte = deceased
  • Degré de parenté = degree of kinship
  • Demeurant à = living in
  • Deuxième Guerre Mondiale = World War II (WWII)
  • Dimanche = Sunday
  • Dispense (de consanguinité) – dispensation (of consanguinity)
  • Domicilié / domiciliée à = residing in
  • Dot = dowry

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E

  • Éclats d’obus = shrapnel pieces (Blessé par éclats d’obus = wounded by shrapnel pieces – you might find this information on a military record)
  • Effacer = delete
  • Église = church
  • Enfant = child
  • Enfant naturel = illegitimate child (born outside of marriage) – Définition : La qualité juridique d’un enfant à la naissance désigne le statut matrimonial de sa mère. Les enfants « légitimes » sont ceux dont les parents sont mariés. La naissance est qualifiée de « hors mariage » (anciennement qualifiée de « naturelle » ou encore « illégitime ») dans le cas contraire. Un enfant né hors mariage dont la mère se marie est dit légitimé par le mariage.Mais, la distinction entre enfants « légitimes » et enfants « naturels » n’existe plus en France. L’ordonnance du 5 juillet 2005, entrée en vigueur en juillet 2006, a en effet fait disparaître du code civil ces deux notions devenues caduques dans la mesure où les droits des enfants nés hors mariage sont les mêmes que ceux des enfants nés de couples mariés. (Source: site de l’INSEE)
  • Enregistrement = registration, recording of information
  • Enterré / enterrée = buried
  • Enterrement = burial
  • Époux = husband
  • Épouse = wife
  • Épouser = to marry
  • État civil = civil registration (personal data, information, records, register of births, marriages, deaths)
  • Évêque = bishop

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F

  • Famille = family
  • Femme = spouse or woman
  • Février = February
  • Filiation = filiation, line of descent
  • Fille = daughter or girl
  • Filleul = godson
  • Filleule = goddauther
  • Fils = son
  • Fin = end (année de début and année de fin = year (range), “from”… “to”…)
  • Fonds (d’archives) = set of archival documents, manuscripts
  • Fratrie = siblings
  • Frère = brother

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G

  • Gendre = son-in-law
  • Grand-oncle = great-uncle
  • Grand-tante = great-aunt
  • Grande Guerre = Great War, First World War (WWI)
  • Guerre = war

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H

  • Hameau = hamlet
  • Héraldique = heraldry
  • Héritier = heir
  • Heure(s) = hour(s)
  • Hoirs = direct heirs (if you see “sans hoirs” (without heirs), it means that the person doesn’t have children)
  • Homme = man

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I

  • Illégitime = illegitimate (born out of wedlock)
  • Inconnu / inconnue = unknown
  • Index = alphabetical list of names in a document
  • Inhumé / inhumée = buried

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J

  • Janvier = January
  • Jeudi = Thursday
  • Jour = day
  • Juillet = July
  • Juin = June
  • Jumeau / jumeaux = twin(s) (masculin)
  • Jumelle / jumelles = twin(s) (feminin)

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K

  • I can’t come up with any genealogy French term with this letter, but I can tell you that it’s worth 10 points in the French Scrabble!

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L

  • Lancez la recherche = start, launch the search
  • Le jour d’hui = the day of today (in old records. Usually, it would be: “née le jour d’hui” = born today)
  • Le jour d’hier = the day of yesterday (in old records. Usually, it would be: “née le jour d’hier” = born yesterday)
  • Légitime = legitimate
  • Légitimé / légitimée = illegitimate child recognized by their parents, therefore becoming “legitimate”.
  • Lieu = place
  • Lieu de naissance = place of birth
  • Lieu-dit = locality
  • Lignage (lignée, ligne) = lineage
  • Livret de famille = family record booklet – document given at the time of marriage listing civil and vital records information
  • Livret militaire = military booklet given at the time of military service
  • Lundi = Monday

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M

  • Mai = May
  • Maintenue dans sa noblesse = (family) kept in its nobility
  • Maire = mayor
  • Mairie = City Hall/Town Hall
  • Maison = house, home. In nobility: royal or noble family (Maison de Bourbon = the House of Bourbon)
  • Mardi = Tuesday
  • Mari = husband
  • Mariage = marriage
  • Mariage consanguin = marriage between cousins
  • Marié / mariée / mariés = married
  • Marraine = godmother
  • Mars = March
  • Maternel / maternelle = maternal
  • Matin = morning
  • Matricule militaire = personal identification number assigned to an individual (military records)
  • Médecin = medical doctor
  • Mention marginale = entry of a civil status made in the margin of a civil record indicating the content of another record (great source of information!)
  • Menu déroulant = drop-down menu
  • Mercredi = Wednesday
  • Métier = profession
  • Militaire = military
  • Mil = old French writing for “mille” = one thousand. So you will see in some records: L’an mil huit cent trente un = the year one thousand eight hundred thirty one = 1831
  • Mille = one thousand
  • Mois = month
  • Mort / morte = dead
  • Mort-né (enfant mort-né) = stillborn child
  • “Mort pour la France” = “died for France”. (Posthumous honorary mention added to the civil status of a person to recognize their sacrifice in the service of France).

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N

  • Naissance = birth
  • Naturel / naturelle (enfant naturel) = illegitimate child
  • Né / née = born
  • Neveu = nephew
  • Nièce = niece
  • Noblesse = nobility
  • Nobiliaire = book listing noble families
  • Nom = last name
  • Novembre = November (you might see “9bre” in some old records)
  • Nuit = night

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O

  • Octobre = October (you might see “8bre” in some old records)
  • Oncle = uncle

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P

  • Pape = Pope
  • Parenté = kinship
  • Parents = parents (father and mother), or relatives
  • Paroisse = parish
  • Parrain = godfather
  • Petits-enfants = grandchildren
  • Petits enfants (no hyphen) = small/little children
  • Petit-fils = grandson
  • Petite-fille = granddaughter
  • Petite fille (no hyphen) = small/little girl
  • Postérité = a person’s descendants (if you see “sans postérité” or “s.p.“, it means “without descendants”)
  • Premier lit = born from first marriage (literally: first bed)
  • Première guerre mondiale = First World War, Great War (WWI)
  • Prénoms = first name and middle name(s)
  • Prêtre = priest
  • Preuves de noblesse = proofs of nobility
  • Prisonnier de guerre = prisoner of war (POW)
  • Propriétaire = land owner
  • Publications (des bans) de mariage = publication of marriage bans
  • Puîné / puînée = brother or sister born after another brother or sister

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Q

  • Quartier = neighborhood

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R

  • Recensements (de la population) = census records
  • Recherche nominative = search by name
  • Recherche par classe = search by class (usually found on the military archives, or “registres matricules”)
  • Rechercher = to research
  • Reconnaissance = recognition of a child
  • Reconnu par = recognized by
  • Registres matricules = military records
  • Registres paroissiaux = parish registers
  • Religieuse = nun
  • Rentier / rentière = a person living on income from property or investments

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S

  • Sage-femme = midwife
  • Samedi = Saturday
  • Sans hoirs = without heirs (the person doesn’t have children)
  • Sans postérité / s.p. = without descendants
  • Second lit = born from second marriage (literally: second bed)
  • Seconde Guerre Mondiale = World War II (WWII)
  • Semaine = week
  • Septembre = September (you might see “7bre” in some old records)
  • Sépulture = burial
  • Sœur = sister
  • Soir (soirée) = evening
  • Soussigné = undersigned

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T

  • Tables alphabétiques = alphabetical “tables”, index, compilations
  • Tables décennales = Ten-Year indexes of civil records (alphabetical and chronological)
  • Tables de succession et absences = mandatory records of deceased people established after the French Revolution for taxes purposes (the law passed on 22 frimaire an VII (December 12, 1798).
  • Tante = aunt
  • Témoin = witness
  • Testament = will
  • Trisaïeul = great-great-grandfather
  • Trisaïeule = great-great-grandmother
  • Trisaïeuls = great-great-grandparents
  • Tutelle = guardianship
  • Tuteur / tutrice = guardian (masculin/feminine)

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U

  • Utérin / utérine : born to the same mother but having different fathers

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V

  • Valider = validate
  • Vendredi = Friday
  • Vente = sale
  • Veuf = widower
  • Veuve = widow
  • Vicaire = vicar
  • Ville = city, town

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W – X – Y

  • Just like with K, I can’t come up with any genealogy French term either with those letters, but they too are worth 10 points in the French Scrabble!

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Z

  • Ze French glossary! I hope you found it helpful!
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