TERMINOLOGY USED BY OUR ANCESTORS

• abt. = about
  
• aft. = after
  
• A.M. = anno mundi (year of the world, according to various dates for Creation)
  
• b. = born
  
• bascinet = a kind of helmet
  
• B.C.E. = before common era (long way to write BC)
  
• bef. = before
  
• bovate = a designation for an amount of land, dating to the time of William the Conqueror, consisting of about 15 acres.
  
• c. = circa (about)
  
• ca. = circa (about)
  
• carucate = a designation for an amount of land, dating to the time of William the Conqueror, consisting of about 120 acres.
  
• C.E. = common era (politically correct for AD)
  
• d. = died
  
• dau. = daughter
  
• deforce = To keep (something) by force or violence (from the person who has a right to it); to withhold wrongfully.
  
• Deforciant = A person who deforces another or keeps him wrongfully out of possession of an estate.
  
• D.F.A. = Descent from Antiquity (direct descent from person living before AD 476)
  
• d.s.p. = Latin "decessit sine prole" or French "decede/decedee sans posterite", died without issue.
  
• d.s.p.m.l. = died without legitimate sons.
  
• d.v.m.s.p. = died during the lifetime of his (or her) mother leaving no children.
  
• d.v.p. = "died vp," died before his (or her) father.
  
• d.v.p.s.p.m.l. = died during the lifetime of his (or her) father leaving no legitimate sons.
  
• esquire =
  
• fl. = floruit (flourished; did his deeds)
  
• imparl =
  
• i.p.m. = "inquisition post mortem," performed when anyone holding land directly under the king (or land under a minor, who held under the king) died. Its purpose was to determine what land was held, who the heir was, and whether that heir was a minor to ensure that the king derived the various benefits available from guardianship. It is useful in providing death dates (sometimes precise, sometimes approximate like older than 21 or 40 years), who was in possession of land at a specific date, who the deceased was holding his land under, and who was holding under the deceased.
  
• Jack = A very strong leather jerkin made of the thickest whit-leather - reaching to the thigh.
  
• m. = married
  
• m1. = married as his first wife (or as her first husband).
  
• mesne =
  
• moiety messuage = A dwelling house, its outbuildings, orchard, garden and land, from Old French mesnage.
• MS or ms. = manuscript
  
• MSS or mss. = manuscripts (note plural)
  
• occ. = occurs in sources
  
• o.s.p. = Latin, "obiit sine prole," died without issue.
  
• o.v.m. = "obiit vita matris", died before his (or her) mother.
  
• o.v.p. = "obiit vita patris", died before his (or her) father.
  
• Pinny = A ‘pinny’ is the North East England word for an apron. It is an abbreviation of the word Pinafore.
  
• plough = a designation for an amount of land, dating to the time of William the Conqueror, consisting of about 60 acres, or one-half a carucate.
  
• Presented to the Church. Example: "William Purefoy in 1418 presented to the church of Shalstone." Presented to the Church of so-and-so" means appointed to be priest of the parish of so-and-so. During the Middle Ages and well into the modern period in England, certain people or institutions possessed, as an item of property, the right to "present" its priest to a particular parish. This right could be bought and sold, or left in a will. It could belong to the King, to a bishop, to a member of the lay aristocracy, to a college of Oxford or Cambridge, or to someone else. The right was valuable because it provided a way to give a good job to a family member, or someone to whom a favour was to be done. (note by Harry Duckworth).
  
• r. = ruled
  
• recusancy =
  
• Salett (Salate)(pl. salades) = a kind of helmet which succeeded the bascinet, especially distinguished by a projection behind to protect the neck. The earlier salades had visors.
  
• seisin =
  
• Seme = A loaded for a pack-horse; specifically, eight bushels of grain.See the will of John KINGSBURYE [F239872.
  
• sequestrated =
  
• socage =
  
• sp. = One of the most common abbreviations in medieval genealogy is "sp", or "s.p.", which stands for either the Latin "sine prole", or the French "sans posterite". Both mean the same thing, "without issue" (that is, without children). Abbreviations, with "s.p." as the base, can be added together to create extended meanings (see d.s.p.m.l., or d.v.m.s.p.).
  
• s.p. = Same as sp.
  
• s.p.l. = "sans posterite legitime", without legitimate issue. Note that "s.p." usually implies "without any issue either legitimate or illegitimate", whereas "s.p.l." usually implies "without legitimate issue but with illegitimate issue".
  
• s.p.m. = "sine prole masculina", without any sons. This usually implies "with daughters".
  
• Tod = a tod was a unit of measure of 28 lbs. It was used, for example, to measure wool.
  
• turbary =
  
• unk. = unknown
  
• Visitation from God. = The word visitation (from French/medieval Latin) is still in use describing the process at the emergency room when persons with injuries or suddenly occurring maladies are transferred to the appropriate wards. It's also used to describe the process by which elderly people are accepted for nursing homes. The meaning of visitation, then, is more along the lines of selection/selecting, rather than an actual visit as English speakers think of it now. It fits very well that an ardent Christian may have described the cause of death for someone as being selected/chosen by God. In obituaries in Danish the phrase "kaldt hjem til Gud" is often used and it means being called home to God--or visitated (not visited) by God.
  
• v.m. = Latin, "vita matris", during the life of the mother. Usually implies that the mother was an heiress of some sort.
  
• v.p. = Latin, "vita patris," during the life of the father.