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Difficult Spanish Terms for Family Historians
Other pages on this site offer translations of the more basic words commonly found in everyday usage and in genealogical sources. The following list is meant to assist with some of the more difficult terms and phrases.
My first bout with a difficult phrase was while working with baptismal records in Laredo, Webb Co., Texas. The records in question named my third great-grandfather, Rafael Alfrido, as the father and Dolores Trevino as the mother. Knowing Rafael's wife to be Trinidad Trevino, I considered the possibility that Dolores and Trinidad were the same woman, but questioned why other records (her marriage, the baptism of 11 children, and census records) consistently identified her as Trinidad.
The key to the mystery lay in the terminology of the baptismal records of their children. All records referring to Rafael and Trinidad's children identified the children as hijos legítimos (legitimate children), whereas the priest recorded Dolores' children as hijos espurios.
My cousin sent the following:
Regarding Dolores' children, . . . the word 'espurio' from the same Latin root as 'spurious'. (Are you
catching the drift?) The Pequeño Larousse dictionary defines 'espurio, -ria'
as "Bastardo [as in] hijo espurio / Contrahecho, falso [as in] obra
espuria." I don't have to translate any further. It's clear that Rafael
had one 'house' with Dolores, in Laredo, Texas, and another with Trinidad in
Guerrero, Mexico.
Translating Spanish Records
accidentalmente (accid.) |
Came there occasionally (i.e., y accid. Sto. Domingo - he came to Santo Domingo occasionally.) Used in birth certificates when the parents are not considered permanent residents of the place of birth. |
acta defuncion. |
death certificate |
administr el sacramento |
I administered the sacrament (of baptism) |
a fojas |
on page |
"a o calendario" or "a o natural" |
calendar year |
"a o econ mico" or "a o fiscal" |
fiscal year |
apoderado |
proxy; representative; trustee |
bienes |
assets |
bis |
duplicate; twice |
clerigo (cura parroco, sacerdote) |
priest; clergyman |
compareci |
appeared before (me) |
compareciente |
person who appeared |
consta en la partida de fecha |
it is so stated in the entry (or document) dated |
constancia |
birth registration |
contrayente |
party to a marriage |
conyuge |
spouse |
copia fotostatica |
photocopy |
del actual. |
of this month and year |
del a o en curso |
this year |
del mes en curso |
this month |
de los corrientes |
of the present month and year |
"del pte." or "de los ptes." |
of the current month or of the current month and year (pte. = presente; ptes. = presentes; month and year) |
del que fina |
of the month that is ending |
del que rige |
of the current month and year |
del que sigue |
of the following month and year |
del siguiente tenor |
in this vein, fashion (to wit) |
disposiciones |
provisions of the law |
doy f |
I certify; I testify; I bear witness to |
ejecutar |
to execute |
el abajo firmante |
the undersigned |
el cura parroco (parroquial) |
the parish priest |
el presbitero (presbítero) que suscribe |
the priest who certifies |
estado civil |
marital status |
expedido el día |
issued on |
expedido en la ciudad de |
issued in the city of |
firmaron la presente |
they signed this document |
firme por no haber sido recurrida |
final because it was not contested |
folio |
page |
fotocopia |
photocopy |
"gastos funerales," "gastos funerarias," or "gastos de entierro" |
funeral expenses |
hijastro |
stepchild |
"hijo espurio" or "hija espuria" |
illegitimate child, whose parents, for
whatever reason, were not in a position to marry |
"hijo natural" or "hija natural" |
illegitimate child, parents could have been married at time of birth, but were not |
juramentar; juramento |
to swear in, to take an oath; oath, vow, curse |
impresion xerografica |
photocopy |
la presente acta |
this document |
le da, ratificada, y firmada la pte. |
this document was read, ratified and signed |
legítimo |
legitimate |
levantadas las actas |
documents were recorded |
mayor cuantía |
superior |
naci ayer |
born yesterday |
para constancia, firmo |
to render this legal, I sign it |
parte dispositiva |
the part where the disposition is made |
poder, un poder |
power of attorney |
por ante (Dominican Republic). |
in front of |
"ppdo. pasado" or "proximo pasado" |
last (year or month); the most recent past |
primero |
first |
1o |
first (not tenth) |
que tuvo lugar |
that took place |
rancho |
ranch or farm |
retroproximo |
just passed |
revalidar |
certify; recertify; ratify; confirm |
r bricas |
signed and sealed (a r brica is a personalized mark or flourish that a person adds to their signature or uses in place of a signature) |
se encuentra asentada |
we find that this document is recorded or entered |
se extiende este certificado |
this certificate is being issued |
se levanta la pte. |
this document is being written or recorded |
solteros (soltero, soltera) |
unmarried; often shown in reference to parents on the birth certificate of illegitimate children |
ultimo |
last; most recent |
yo, el infrascrito |
I, the undersigned |
Regarding the differences in hijos espurios and hijos lejitimos, I found an enlightening quotation in the Thirteenth Seanad, Vol 79, 12 Feb 1975, as follows:
An important part of the influence of Canon Law resulted from the way it gradually refined the categories of illegitimacy. For example, a general distinction was drawn between illegitimate children who are natural and those who are spurious. A natural child was one born to parents who could have been married at the time of conception. A spurious child was one whose parents could not have been lawfully married at the time of conception. Spurious children were further subdivided into further categories: adulterous, who were born of an adulterous union; incestuous, who were born of an incestuous union where either party had taken solemn religious vows; and nefarious where born of parents who were blood relations in the same line.
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