Common genealogical terms

Name	Definition
I
Illegitimate	Born outside marriage.
Implex	This is the ratio between the theoretical number of ancestors and their actual number. See also consanguinity dispensations.
Index	Alphabetical table of names listed in a work or set of documents.
Insinuation	Entry in the registers of the bailiwick registry of the essential content of deeds drawn up by notaries.
Intestate	Died without a will.
Inventory	A book that analyses an archive and makes it easier to use.
Inventory after death	Enumeration of all the movable and immovable property left by a deceased person to make up his or her estate. These documents can be found in series B at the departmental archives.
L
Liasse	Archive conservation unit.
Lineage	Direct line linking a person to his ancestor. We also say lineage or line.
Book of reason	A handwritten work in which all the significant events in the life of a family, sometimes spanning several generations, are recorded.
Family record book	Document issued at the time of the marriage containing information on marital status.
Military record book	Document issued during military service.
M
House	Family, used only for nobility.
Matronym	Family name passed down through the mother. See also Patronymic.
Marginal mention	Entry made in the margin of a civil status record indicating the content of another record.
Minute	Original notarial deed.
N
Nobiliary	Book listing noble families.
O
Corrugation	Emergency baptism in the absence of a clergyman, when the death of the child is feared.
P
Paleography	Study of ancient scripts.
Parents	All living relatives of an individual at a given time.
Parish	Territory under the spiritual authority of a parish priest.
Family name	Family name passed on by the father. See also Matronym.
Posterity	All the descendants of a person. When the person has no descendants, "without posterity" or "s.p." is indicated. See also Heirs.
Youngest child	Born after. For example, a younger brother. See also Hoirs and Benjamin.
Q
Quarter	Old word synonymous with ancestor.
R
Census	An administrative operation to count the population. These documents provide a wealth of information about families. Until the 18th century, censuses were carried out by fire.
Parish registers	Parish registers in which baptisms, marriages and burials were recorded. See also BMS.
S
Sosa	Number assigned to an ancestor.
Sources	Documents consulted to establish a genealogy or family history.
Nickname	Name given to a person in addition to their real name. The nicknames of the Middle Ages are at the origin of our current family names.
T
Ten-year table	Summary register of civil status records arranged alphabetically and chronologically over a ten-year period.
U
Usual	Routine reference work made available to readers in an archive or library.
Uterine	Parent on the mother's side. Two children born to the same mother but different fathers are said to be uterine brothers. See also Consanguine.