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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.

See also our Family Archive CD German Genealogy Research Guide.

RELATED GERMAN BOOKS
Ancestors in German Archives
Encyclopedia of German-American Genealogical Research
In Search of Your German Roots
Address Book for Germanic Genealogy
Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs


EDITORIAL REVIEWS

"The book is well organized...easy to use...a valuable addition to the library of anyone researching their German ancestry."--DER AHNENFORSCHER, p. 3.

"...even the person who has a strong knowledge of the German language will find a number of cultural and historical novelties which enhance his knowledge of things German...the many references to standard German abbreviations and acronyms also prove quite helpful, whereas the list of suffixes and dictionary make fascinating reading and reference for those with linguistic or genealogical interests."--THE NEW ENGLAND HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL REGISTER, Vol. 151, pp. 109-110.

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

"Earnest Thode has put together one of the best German genealogical dictionaries available...The brief introduction to the dictionary is concise and complete...Anyone who researches German manuscripts, letters, or documents will find this dictionary extremely useful."--ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL GENEALOGISTS QUARTERLY, Vol. 8, No. 2.

"Researchers who wish to translate documents on their own will find this book invaluable."--FEDERATION OF GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES FORUM, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 21-24.

"Mr. Thode has carefully organized this book and has written a good introduction to explain its use."--THE NEW YORK GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, Vol. 123, No. 4.