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Online Dictionaries
Language is constantly changing, and many words used in old records could have a different meaning from the common meaning used today; therefore, dictionaries from earlier years or centuries are an excellent resource for researchers. Below is a list of common words that are found in Portuguese records to help you get started.
Abade: abbot; rector of a parish (in some provinces)Abadengo: abbeyAbadia: monastery headed by abbot or abbessAbscesso: abscessAção judicial: lawsuitAceitante: acceptingAceite: an act whereby the person, by stating the date and signature, is bound by an obligation in a security against him/her.Aceptilação: debt settlement given to a debtor, with effect extended to other covered by the delivery of the unpaid security to the debtor. Remission of unpaid debt.Acre: acreAdjacente: ajacentAdministrador: administratorAdoção: adoptionAdvento: advent, the four week period that comes before ChristmasAfastamento: the act or effect of seperatingAfinidade: affinity; the relationship between one spouse and relatives of the otherAlabardeiro: Spanish Royal GuardAlbino: someone who suffers from albinism, an organic anomaly characterized by the absence or great lack of pigment in the skin, eyes, and hairAlcaide: mayor; magistrate; offical to whom the maybor delegates his power in a certain section of a cityAlcaide-mor: justice of the peace; the administrative and judical magistrate of a province or district; local magistrateAlferes: the least graduated of junior officers.Alma: soulAlqueire: bushelAlteza: an honorary title given to the kings, princes, and officals of the high court and to some of the royal councilsAluguel: rentAmparo: the act of protection of the Indian by the Spaniard, specifically teaching him the trade, bringing him upAnata: traditional tax paid to the Apostolic ChamberAnexo: annex; a church rependent upon another one; rural district joined to a boroughAnteiglesia: atrium or portico (of a church); parish church; parish or districtApeamento: surveying; shoring up of a buildingAprendiz: apprenticeAprovação: AprovementArcebispado ou Arquidiocese: archbishopric, ecclesiatical territory under the jurisdiction of an archbishopArcebispo: archbishop, the bishop of a metropolitan church to which other bishops are subordinateArciprestado: land under jurusdiction of an archpriest composed of several parishesArcipreste: archpriest, a parish priest who also presides over several other parish priestsArquivo: archives, place where records are kept; (office) files, fileArrendamento: to rentArroba: weight measure equivalent to 25 lbs. of 16 oz. each; liquid measurement equivalent to about 3 gallons; the fourth part of a quintalÁrvore genealógica: Family treeAscendência: ascendency, a series of ancestorsAsilo Político: asylum, shelterAssinatura hológrafa: holographic signatureAssinatura sinalática: signal signatureAssinatura: signatureAudiência: regional high court; civil tribunal that dealt with the civil and criminal actions of the last resortAuto: judicial sentence; warrant; edict; various legal documents both judical and administrative, not including wills or inventoriesAuto-da-fé: a public procedure in which those accused by the Inquistition were sentencedAvaliador: Evaluator
Bacharel: holder of a bachelor's degreeBairro: city wardBasco: person who is from/ lives in the country of Basco.Bastardo: bastardBeneficiário: beneficence, charity; welfare organization or institution, charity organization, public welfare officeBenefício de Inventário: (law) benefit of inventory, right granted to heir to accept inheritance without being obligated to pay debts amounting to more than the inheritanceBenefício: benefit, profitBens de Raiz: property, goods, feeBispado: bishopricBispo: bishopBraça: length measure, length formed by having both arms of a person open and extended, which commonly is taken to be 6 feet of widthBula: papal bull or proclamation
c.c.: Casado com-- Married withc.m.c.: Contrato matrimonial com-- Marriage contract withCabido: chapter of a cathedral or collegiate churchCabildo colonial: name given to municipal corporations instituted in Latin American during the colonial period that were in charge of the general administration of colonial citiesCabo: Corporal; military graduate who, in the hierachy of our Armed Forces, is above the solder, in the Army; above a first-class sailor in the navy; and above a first-class soldier in aeronauticsCaboclo ou Curiboca: mestizo individual; child of white with indigenousCabra: mestizo indivual; mix of black with native or native with whiteCaçador: hunterCacique: the chief or ruler of some Indian tribes; local rulerCadastro: registerCadeira: chair; position or place of honor of an authority or dignityCafuz (Cafuzo): regarding black or indigenous mestizosCâmara municipal: city council; city hallCanônico: canonical; canonry (canons collectively)Capelania: benefice or foundation subject to certain obligations; lay foundation without ecclesiastical interventionCapelão: a priest who has a chaplaincy, or says mass in a private chapel and who is paid by a trust fund or private individual to administer the affirs of said fund or indivudalCapitania-geral: general captain; territorial demarcation governed by a General Captain during the colonial eraCapitulação: the act of contract makingCapítulo conventual: conventual chapter; collegiate body of a monastery or a religious house with consultative and deliberative functions of varying frequencyCapítulo geral: general chapter; collegiate body, representative of a religious institute, which has the supreme authorityCapítulo: chapter; collegiate body that brings together representatives of members of a religious institute at different levelsCardeal: cardinal, member of the Pope's electoral collegeCarisma: charismaCarta de alforria: freedom letter; document given to slave by its ownerCasa: houseCasta: caste; racial lineageCatalão: native of Catalonia; romance language spoken in Catalonia and other Spanish regions of Spain that were part of the old Crown of AragonCatedral: cathedralCatelhano: native of Castille; Castillian Spanish; SpanishCatequese: Sunday school; a school attended by children on Sundays for religious instructionCatequista: catechist; someone who teaches precepts or religious doctrine in catechism classesCavalaria: cavalry; troop of soldiers serving on horsebackCavaleiro: knightCenso: census of population, etc.Certificado: certificateClérigo: clergy; the individual belonging to the social body of the ChurchCodicilo: codicil; amendment to a willColegiada: collegiate churchColetor: collector of taxes, or of collection for the churchComadre: midwife; godmotherComarca: region or districtComparecer: to appear officiallyCompromisso: pledge, commitment, promiseConceder: grant; give permission or consent for something to happenConcerto: agreement; contract; arrangementCunhado: brother-in-lawCunhada: sister-in-lawCondado: earldom; courtship; countyConde: count; eral; overseerCónego: canon; one who observes and follows a canonConfirmação: confirmationConfrade: brother or member of a brotherhoodConfraria: brotherhood; voluntary association in which the brothers are grouped together for mutual assistance both in material and spiritual termsConsanguinidade: consanguinity; kinship; blood relationshipConselho da Índia: royal council that governed the coloniesConselho de Portugal: council of PortugalConselho Provincial: provincial council; organization that brings together the advisors of the Provincial SuperiorConselho: councilConsignação: consignment; deposit (of money)Consorte: spouse; partner associateCorregedor: Portuguese magistrate; mayor appointed by the KingCortesão: courtier; individual who attends the court of a sovereignCrioulo: Creole; Latin-American colonial born of European parentsCrisma: Chrism, concecrated oilCúria: set of ecclesiastical organizations and entities that cooperate with the bishopCursivo: cursiveCurtidor: tanner; one who does tanningCurtimento: tanning; treatment of animal skin with chemical organic substance such as tannin
Datar: typing or putting something in a databaseDeão: deanDecanato: deanship, deaneryDefunctus sine prole: deceased without offspringDelação: reportingDentição: dentition; formation, natural appearance and growth of teethDepartamento: departmentDia de Reis: Day of the Kings, Twlfth Night, Janurary 6thDicionário corográfico: geographical dictionaryDiocese: diocese, unit of the Catholic Church presided over by a bishopDireito canônico/canónico: canon law; the set of laws and regulations made or adopted by the leaders of the ChurchDisenteria: dysenteryDivisão: divisionDízimo: tithing; monetary contributions to the churchDom (título): don; title of respect prefixed to Christian namesDona: respectful title for womenDote: dowry; that property which a womn takes into marriageDucado: the coin of gold or silver that the Catholic manarches createdDuque: duke; title of honor which follows that of prince
Eclesiástico: ecclesiasticalEcônomo: priest temporarily in charge of a parishEmancipação: emancipation; the act of rfeeing from servitudeEmpréstimo: LoanEncomendeiro: one who had Indians assigned to him in a trustEnteado: step-childEntrambos: bothEpiscopal: of the bishopEscalduno: native to the Basque County, which includes a Spanish part and a French partEscarlatina: Scarlet feverEscravo de aluguel: slaves for hireEscravo de campo: slaves who worked in rural areasEscravo de ganho: a slave who is offered several types of service, such as cargo transportation, baber shop, washing clothes, or even manufacturing some medicinesEscravo de lida: slaves of heavy toil with little restEscravo doméstico: domestic slaveEscravo: slaveEscravos do engenho de cana: slaves of the sugarcane millEscrevente: scribeEscriba: scribeEscritura: scriptureEscudo português: Portuguese Escudo; the currency used after te Real and before the Euro was adopted as the official currencyEsmola: alms; given out of charity; cash reward to the church where mass was celebrated by someoneEspírito: spiritEstalagem: innEstalajadeiro: innkeeperExecutor: executor
Fábrica: factoryFânega: Measure for cereals, equivalent to 100 kilograms, in current use at the borders of Rio Grande do SulFé: faithFebre tifóide: typhoid feverFeminino: feminineFerrajaria: Hardware industryFeudo: feud; in the Middle Ages, land or sometimes; right granted by the feudal lord (overlord) to the vassal in exchange for certain services and mutual loyaltyFiança: guarantee; responsibility assumed by a third party (guarantor), in order to guarantee the payment of an obligation assumed by another person (debtor), according to the conditions established in the contractFidalgo: word used in Portugal that means "son-of-something", who had something in goods or in noble conditionFilho adotivo: adoptive sonFilha adotivo: adoptive daughterFilho bastardo: bastard child; child born out of the bounds of matrimonyFilho ilegítimo: illegitimate child; a child whose parents are not marriedFilho legítimo: legitimate childFilho natural: natural childFilho póstumo: posthumous son; one who is born after the death of the fatherFilho(a) exposto(a): child abondoned by biological parentsFiliação legítima: legitimate affliation; one that results from parents legally married to each otherFiliação: affliationFinado: deadFloresta: forestFolha: page (typically page of paper); leafForo: forum; right, privileges in general that the law grants to someoneFórum: forum; building where the Judiciary Power functions and where legal issues are debated and judgedFossário: Person in charge of a graveFraternidade: fraternityFrei: Abbreviation for FreireFreguesia: parishFreire: religious; term used to designate members of Military Orders
Gêmeo: twinGêmeos fraternos: fraternal twinsGêmeos idênticos: identical twinsGenro: son-in-lawGota: gout, gropGoverno do Rio da Prata e do Paraguai: Government of the River Plate and Paraguay; the territorial division of the Spanish Empire in the area of the River Plate basin in South America and whose capital was AsunciónGrávida: pregnantGrêmio: guild, society, association, brotherhoodGripe: flu or coldGuarda: guard
Habilitação de casamento: marriage qualificationHeráldica: heraldryHerança vacante: vacant inheritance; the heirs are not knownHerança: inheritanceHóstia: circular blade of unleavened wheat dough that the priest consecrates and offers to the faithful during communion on the occasion of the MassHostiário: box to store the circular blades of unleavened wheat dough that are not yet consecrated
i.: illegitamateill.: illegitamateImóvel: fixed propertyImpedimento matrimonial: marital impediment; absense of legal conditions or the existence of a reason presented by the deceived contractor, which prevent the marriage celebrationImpedimento: imprediment; act or effect of preventingImposto de Passagem: tax for passage; term used in the Order of Malta to designate the fee paid to the Order by candidates to the religious professon, with a view to efinitive entry into it as professed nuns or knights, corresponding to a symbolic form of remission of the obligation to stay in the central convent in MaltaIncógnito: incognito; unknownIndenização: indemnity; security or protection against a loss or other financial burdenIndias: Indies; the American continent, including the Caribbean, Mexico, Central American, and South AmericaÍndio: indian; a person living with the Indians who adopts their customs, a social designationIndulgência: indulgenceInfantil: childish, or relative to childhoodIntendente: quartermasterInumação: burialItem: used to introduce a new fact or statement, or, more frequently, each new article or particular in an enumeration, especially in a formal list or document, as an inventory, or will
Jesuíta: Jesuit; a member of the Society of Jesus, a religious order founded by Santo Inácio de Loyola in 1534Jornaleiro: journeyman, day laborerJovem: youthJudeu: jewishJuiz de primeira instância: judge of first instance; magistrate who knows and judges common causes, since he has original competence and whose decisions are appealed to the immediately superior instanceJuro: interest
Latifúndio: large landed estate typical of Andalucia and large parts of Latin AmericaLavrador: farmerLegítimo: legitimate, lawfulLégua: league (3.5 miles); lenght--land measurement which varies depending on the nation, equivalent to approximately 5.572mLeilão: auctionLeste: eastLiberto: freedom, liberty; privelge, rightLicença: licenseLicenciado: licensedLícito: lawfulLiquidação: liquidationLivros paroquiais: Parish booksLoja: storeLugarejo: village
Madrasta: stepmotherMadrinha: godmotherMagistratura: judiciary; magistrateMameluco: child of Indian with whiteMancipação: mancipation; voluntary transfer, in the presence of witnesses, of a propertyManda: bequestMar do Norte: Atlantic Ocean; North SeaMar do Sul: Pacific Ocean; South SeaMarquês: marquis; in ancient times, a lord over the lands situtated on the frontiers of a kingdom; in later times, a noble title between that of count and dukeMatrícula: register, list, roster, roll censusMeio-irmão: half-brotherMeia-irmã: half-sisterMendigo: beggarMercado: marketMestiço: mestizo; an indivual born to a father and mother of different racesMissa: celebration of the Eucharist, MassMissão: mission; parish under control of one of the religious ordersMonsenhor: monsignor; title used in many countries to designate BishopsMorador: residentMoreno(a): one who has a skin tone between white and brown or between brown and blackMorgado: linked patrimony that could not be solid or divided and that was passed on to the eldest son, due to the death of the one who owned itMourisco: Moorish, those baptized Moors that lived in Spain and the colonies; Mexico, mixture of Spanish and mulatto bloodMulato(a): one who is a mixed race of the white and black racesMunicípio: municipality; the territorial jurisdiction which includes the inhabitants governed by a town council
nas. : bornNatural: native of, born in a given locality; born outside of the marriage contractNaturalizado: naturalized; when a foreiger has aquired the rights of a natural citizenNatureza: natureNavio negreiro: slave shipNavio: shipNegro: negro, black or dark-skinned, native of various tribes of AfricaNobiliário: nobiliary, peerage list; pertaining to the nobilityNobre: nobleNomeação: appointment, election, nomination, commissionNomear: to elect or appoint; to name, to mention by nameNono: ninthNotário: notary; authorized official for preparing and certifying public actions, contracts, deeds, bonds, wills, etc.Nubente: one who is about to get marriedNum. : numberNúpcias: marriage, wedding, nuptials
Óbito: deathObituário: obituaryOblato: oblate; from the Latin oblatus, passive past participle of the verb offerre (to offer). The term designates a person who offers himself to God, or a child who is offerred by his parents. This designation included mainly children who, in this way, were entrusted to the care and a religious community, a habit that has been documented since the orgins of monasticism and which would be officially suppressed only with the Council of Trent (1545-1563). It also designates a person linked to the spirituality of a religious order or institute.Oferenda: one who gives offersOferta: offeringOfício: occupation, job, work, craft, trade; office, post, position; functionOleiro: potterOnça: English weight measurement equivalent to 28.35 gramsOnomástica: onomastics; study and linguistic investigation of proper namesOração pelas almas do Purgatório: prayer for souls in PurgatoryOrdem militar: religious order of knights, such as Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara, Malta, San Juan de JerusalemÓrfão: orfanOuvidor: ombudsman; an offical appointed to investigate individuals' complaints against maladministration, especially that of public authoritiesOuvidoria: ecclesiastical structure similar to the Arciprestado that brings together several parishes, under the coordination of the Ombudsman priest
Pacto antenupcial ou convenção antenupcial: prenuptial agreementPadrasto: stepfatherPadrinho: godfatherPag.: pagePai incógnito: unknown fatherPaleografia: palaeography; study of ancient writing, its forms, and variations over the centuries, including its deciphering and interpretationPanteão: pantheon; building dedicated to the memory of illustrious men who made their homeland great and where their ashes are keptPardo: mixture of one part of Spanish blood, two parts of Indian blood, and one part of Negro blood; dark, mulattoPároco: parish priestParóquia: parish, territory covered by the spiritual jurisdiction of a parish priestParoquiano: parishionerPastor: shepherdPatriarcado: patriarchate; ecclesiastical circumscription with a certain legal autonomy, equivalent to a Metropolis of Metropolises and attributed to episcopal headquarters highly venerable for their antiquity and apostolic rootsPatrimônio: inheritancePé: foot; unit of length that corresponds, in the metric decimal system, to 12 inchesPeninsular: penisular, born in Spain or PortugalPermutar: to exchange; usually of two public or ecclesiastical offices or beneficesPlebeu: commonerPoder: ability; powerPolegada: inchPrado: land covered with herbaceous plants suitable for pasture or forage for cattlePrefeito: ecclesiatical who governs an apostolic prefecture, or Cardinal who presides over a congregation of the Roman CuriaPrelado: prelate, ecclesiastical dignitary, superior of a conventPresbítero: priest; one who receives the second degree of the Sacrament of OrderPresídio: prisonPretendente: claimant, seeker, petitionerPrimeira instância: first instance; the first hierachical jurisdiction, the first body of Justice to which the citizen must address a conflict resolution requestPrimo coirmão ou primo carnal ou primo primeiro ou primo em primeiro grau: cousinPrimo cruzado bilateral: bilateral cross-cousin; he who is both the son of the father's sister and the son of the mother's brotherPrimo cruzado: son of a mother's brother or son of a father's brotherPrimo em segundo grau: second cousinPrimo em terceiro grau: third cousinPrimo paralelo ou primo direito ou primo direto: parallel cousin or right cousin or direct cousin; son of a brother of the father or son of a sister of the mother of an individualPriorado: priory; religious community in which the prior or prioress performs his/her dutiesPrivilégio: privelgeProclama: marriage notice, reading in the church by the priest and/or published by the civil registry officerProcurador: attorneyProle: offspringPropriedade: propertyProrrogação: extension, postponement, delayProtesto: protestProtocolo: protocolProva: proofProvíncia: provincePureza de sangue: blood purity; people who were not descendants of Moors, Jews, mulattos, Indians, and blacks
Quaresma: Lent, 40-day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter SundayQuarto voto: Fourth vote, particular and extraordinary vote of some religious institutes issued according to their own traditionQuinta: country house, manor, villaQuintal: weight measurement, equivalent to 100 pounds or four arrobas or 58,758 kilogramsQuitação: settlement, declaration releasing a debtor from a certain amount of credit
Ração: rationRancho: ranchReal Cédula: Royal Decree-- reasonable order issued by the King of Spain between the 15th and 19th centuries. Its cntent resolved some conflict of legal relevance. It established some guidelines for legal conduct, created an institution, appointed a royal position, granted a personal or collective right or ordered some concrete actionReal(Réis): real, form of currency from 1430 to 1911 in PortugalRecibo: recepit (document acknowledging payment)Reclamação: claim, demand, objection, protest, complainRedibição: redefinition, means of canceling a purchase and sale of a movable or semi-movable item that has hidden defects, discovered by the buyerRegimento: regimentRegistro: registerRegular: regular-- monk or priest who is a member of a religious order that takes vowesReligioso: religiousRepartição: distributions of lands after reconquestRequerimento: request, requistition, demand, summonsRevocação ou revogação: revocation, annulment
Sacristão: sacristan, sexton, the individual who took care of the ecclesiastical cemeteriesSangria: bleeding, for therapeutic purposesSanta Sé: Episcopal Headquarters of RomeSecretário: secretarySeguro: safe, secure; insurance policySeleiro: saddler; one who manufactures saddlesSenhoril: belonging to a lord, lady, or noble personServiço: serviceSetentrional: northernSigla: paleographic term, abbreviation by use of initial letters to represent entire wordsSineiro: one who commands the ringing of church bellsSínodo: sinode, ancient name given to ecclesistical councils of a dioceseSobrinho-neto: grand-nephew (niece)Solar: manor houseSoldada: salary, wages; soldier's paySub-rogação: subrogation, substitution or change of thing or person, by something who follows in your duties and acts in your placeSufragâneo: suffragan, one who is under the jurisdiction or authority of anotherSumo pontífice: Pope
Tanoeiro: one who makes barrelsTarifa: tariff, catalog of goods with current prices per unit or typeTataraneto ou trineto: great-great-grandson (granddaughter) or great-grandson (granddaughter)Tataravô ou trisavô: grea-great-grandfather (grandmother) or great-grandfather (grandmother)Tenente: lieutenantTerceira Ordem Regular de São Francisco: Third Regular Order of San Francisco, an order of the Franciscan family, of the Catholic Church, founded by Francisco de Assis in 1221Término: the end, to endTestador: tastator, one who makes a willTestamenteiro: testamentaryTestamento cerrado: a will that is written in secret and then sealed before a notary and witnesses to be opened after the death of the testatorTestamento público: a will that is prepared in a public notary, requiring two witnesses who must attend to everything, which reveals his/her willingness to dispose of assets after his/her deathTestamento: testamentTia: auntTio: uncleTio-avô: great-uncle (aunt)Tio-bisavô: great-great-uncleTítulo: title; document with legal value that validates any rightTransferência: transferTribunal: courtTributável: taxableTributo: tax, compulsory tax that the population pays to the state for services and goodsTrigo: wheatTrisavô(ó): great-great-grandfather (grandmother)Troca: tradeTutela: guardianshipTutelado: guardian
Unção dos enfermos (extrema-unção): anointing of the sick, Catholic sacrament dedicated to the sick, performed with oilUsufruto: usufruct. That is to say, the right and privilege to the use and profits of something, usually a property, that originally belonged to another. A formal word that is often used in Notarial documents to refer to inheritances.Ut supra: (Lat.) as above
Varão: maleVaríola: smallpoxViático: viaticum, sacrament of the Euacharist administered to the sick in danger of deathVicariato: vicariate, territory or area of jurisdiction under the responsibilty of a vicarVice-rei: viceroy, what governs a state subordinate to a kingdomVice-reinado: area governed by a viceroyVigário: vicar, the religious functionary who, as an assistant, takes full charge when his superior is gone, the functionary in charge of a parish timesVigília: vigil, evening celebration on the eve of a religious fastVila: villageVisconde: viscount, title of nobilty, inferior to that of count and superior to that of baronVisita pastoral: pastoral visit, obligation imposed on Cathlic bishops to visit the entire diocese, at least every five yearsVizinho: neighborVotos perpétuos: perpetual vows, public vows issued by a religious person, with a perpetual character, whose nature and effects are sanctioned by canonical normsVotos privados: private votesVotos públicos: public votesVotos religiosos: religious votesVotos simples: simple votesVotos solenes: solemn votes, issued by members of religious orders and recognized by the Church as suchVotos temporários: temporary votes, cast by members of religious institutes
Xerife: sheriff