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''France Glossary

This list contains French words with their English translations. The words included here are those you are likely to find in genealogical sources. If the word you are looking for is not on this list, please consult a French-English dictionary. (See the "Additional Resources" section below.)

The French language is a Romance language derived from Latin. Although English is a Germanic language, it has many words of Latin and French derivation. Thus, many French words are similar to words in English but often have different meanings.

French is spoken in France; Quebec and other areas of Canada; Luxembourg; southern Belgium; southwestern Switzerland; northern and central Africa; some islands in the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Caribbean Sea; southeast Asia; and other areas formerly colonized or influenced by the French.

Between about 1800 and 1812, French was also used in records of the Rhineland area of Germany, northern Belgium, and the Netherlands. In addition, French is found in some early records of Louisiana and a few other places in the United States. Since about 1680, the grammar, if not the spelling, of official written French has been fairly well standardized throughout the world, even though there are many different forms of spoken French.

Language Characteristics
French words for persons, places, and things (nouns) are classified as masculine or feminine. Generally, adjectives used to describe feminine words end with e.

"Le" (masculine form of "the") is used with masculine words. "La" (feminine form of "the") is used with feminine words. But "l’" is used with either if the word begins with a vowel. For example, the word "enfant" means "child" or "infant," either masculine or feminine. But "l’enfant est né" ("the child is born") is used with a male child, and "l’enfant est née" with a female child.

Variant Forms of Words In French, as in English, the forms of some words will vary according to how they are used in a sentence. Who/whose/whom or marry/marries/married are examples of words in English with variant forms. This word list gives the standard form of each French word. As you read French records, you will need to be aware that some words vary with usage.

Plural forms of French words are usually created by adding -s or -x to the singular word. Thus "frère" becomes "frères," and "beau" becomes "beaux." The plural of "beau-frère" ("brother-in-law") is "beaux-frères" ("brothers-in-law").

In French there are five diacritical (accent) marks. These are placed over vowels or under the letter -c- to indicate a change in pronunciation. The following diacritical marks are used in French: à, â, é, è, ê, ë, î, ï, ô, ö, û, ù and ç. The -ç- is pronounced as an -s-. These diacritical marks do not affect alphabetical order.

Spelling Spelling rules were not fixed in earlier centuries. In French the following spelling variations are common: