German-English Genealogical Dictionary [Paperback]

Ernest Thode (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0806313420 | ISBN-13: 978-0806313429

This book is designed for the family researcher who has little or no knowledge of German but who nevertheless needs to make a translation of German-language documents. The dictionary covers thousands of German terms and defines them in single words or brief phrases. All words, symbols, and abbreviations in the dictionary were chosen on the basis of their association with genealogy, having been noted in church records, civil registration records, family correspondence, genealogical journals, ships' passenger lists, and emigration records. Among the many categories of entries included in the dictionary are family relationships, days of the week, map terms, legal terms, cardinal and ordinary numbers, roman numerals, signs of the zodiac, coins, liquid and dry measures, measures of length, place names, historical territories, geographical terms, occupations, titles, military ranks, types of taxes, illnesses, calendar days, male and female given names, heraldry, abbreviations, books of the Bible, and common genealogical words from Danish, Dutch, French, Latin, and Polish. In conjunction with a standard German-English dictionary, the user of this work should be able to make a word-by-word translation of any German document and understand it.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Compiled for the family researcher who needs to translate German-language documents, this specialized dictionary provides thousands of German terms associated with genealogy and defines them simply. In conjunction with a standard German-English dictionary, this work should enable the user to translate German documents. Entries cover family relationships, days of the week, numbers, map and legal terms, place names, historical territories, geographical terms, occupations, titles, names, heraldry, abbreviations, and many other topics. Common genealogical words from Danish, Dutch, French, Latin, and Polish are given as well. Also included are the German alphabet, with script variations, suffix lists, old historical German words and variants, and genealogical symbols used in Germany. A later edition might be enhanced by listing sources and genders of terms and adding woodcuts or other illustrations. But this first edition is a delightful book that provides virtually a short course in German genealogy and fills a major void in the field. Along with Thode's Address Book for Germanic Genealogy (Genealogical Pub., 1991), this is essential for German genealogical researchers. Because millions of Americans trace their ancestry to German immigrants, both books are strongly recommended.
- Judith P. Reid, Library of Congress
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Thode's compilation is recommended for everyone dealing with Germanic documents..." --NATIONAL GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY, Vol. 82, No. 1

"Anyone who researches German manuscripts, letters, or documents will find this dictionary extremely useful." --ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL GENEALOGISTS QUARTERLY, Vol. 8, No. 2

Product Details

• Paperback: 318 pages
• Publisher: Genealogical Publishing Company (January 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806313420
• ISBN-13: 978-0806313429
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #342,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > German

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource, May 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: German-English Genealogical Dictionary (Paperback)

I do a lot of research in German records and I have found this book to be an invaluable aid. I refer to it again and again. German, Latin and other terms found in German records (especially church books) are translated into English. The book even has bit of information about the hard to read German script. It also covers numbers, months, common names and those weird symbols you sometimes find in German records. Highly recommended.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too many mistakes, March 7, 2005

By 

I. Alde "BerkingKid" (Oxford, AR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: German-English Genealogical Dictionary (Paperback)

I am doing translation work for a family website. Although I am a native German, I bought this book in the hope that it would provide oldfashioned, genealogical and historical terms and titles with which I am not familiar and which are not contained in modern dictionaries. From the description on your website I even mentioned it to some of my fellow translators, offering to test it before recommending it.

However, I cannot recommend it. I found very few of the terms I was looking for, and I discovered some blatant mistakes. Mr. Thode should have had a German person proofread his work in order to avoid things like confusing diarrhea with compulsion (sic!), dishonest with illegitimate, cupboard with liquor service. These are only three of the mistakes which I found in one hour, and there are probably dozens more. Instead of giving us more legitimate terms, Mr. Thode wastes valuable space on common Christian names which everybody knows.

I am very disappointed.

Sincerely,

Inge Alde

[e-mail]

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good reference for names and trades, December 29, 1998

By 

Dieter Blobe ( [e-mail] ) (Coopersburg, Pa. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: German-English Genealogical Dictionary (Paperback)

as an amateur genealoger and volunteer translator I find Ernst Thode's dictionary very helpful in being as accurate as possible with my translations,since he has thousands of specialty words not found in ordinary German-english dictionaries. It's major drawback is that it is a one way street, no english-german. the German alpahabet script guide is also useful, although it would have been much more so if the printing had a much higher resolution.