Glossary:D-Dg

Ð : ð : [ante 1600] the barred d; the English sound th, or \th\, as in this.

d.s.p. : decessit sine prole : died without issue, décédé sans posterité [Fr].

d.s.p.m.s. : decessit sine prole mascula superstite : died without surviving male issue.[2] Cf. ob.

d.v.m. : decessit vita matris : died during his mother’s lifetime. Cf. ob.v.m.

d.v.p. : decessit vita patris : died during his father’s lifetime. Cf. ob.v.p.

d’d : dđ : dedi, I gave; the verb do or dare ‘give’ in its active, first-person perfect form. Cf. dd ‘dated.’

d’où postérité : [Fr] by whom he had posterity, by whom he had issue.[3] Cf. ex ea.

Daath : [Hb] the Hebrew goddess who created the element Nephesh by means of tribadism.[4]

dactyl : a metrical foot consisting of one long syllable and two short. An obscene interpretation of the dactyl says that the long syllable stands for the penis, whereas the two short syllables (breves) stand for the testicles.[5]

Dahomey concubitor : The male partner of the Macouda, or the highest ranking officer of the Dahomey amazons, is obliged to remain faithful to his amazon partner, under penalty of death.[6]

Dakota : [ND, SD] the tribal name for the collection of tribes known to the Ojibwa as the nadouessioux, and the French as the Sioux. Cf. American shaman transvestites, Lakota, Oglala.

dalliance: acts of fondness, an exchange of caresses; conjugal conversation; delay, procrastination.

Damon and Pythias : Ph & Er; two Syracusian youths who became inseparable friends. When the tyrant Dionysius condemned Damon to death, Pythias agreed to stand as a hostage to enable Damon to visit his home. Dionysius was so impressed by the pair’s mutual devotion, that he commuted the death sentence.

Damuzi the Wanderer : [3000 bc Sumerian] the true son, good shepherd; the son and lover of Ishtar. When Damuzi drowned, the Black Mother transported him to the underworld. The white face of the Black Mother was depicted as floating above a sea of tears.[9] Cf. Mater Dolorosa.

dances : country dances, namely the jig, morris, maypole, and the Scottish reel.

dances : social dances, namely the measure, pavan, galliard, capriol, lavolta, and brawl.

Danegeld : [1000] a tax imposed by the Danish on the hidage or carucate divisions held by Saxons, said to have been assessed at the rate of 12 pence per for every hide; [1086] the archaic Saxon tributes to the Danes as mentioned in the Norman Domesday Book (1086) accounts of eastern England.

Danelaw : Danelagh : [1013-1042] the Danish occupation of the eastern parts of England that commenced in the ninth century, and comprised the regions called Kingdom of York, Danish Mercia, and East Anglia. Danelaw eventually imposed upon the Saxons an annual tribute called Danegeld.

Danish marriage : [1013-1042] a contradistinctive term for marriage used to differentiate so-called pagan marriage of the Danes from Christian marriage. Cf. uxor more Danico.

Daphnis : the Sicilian shepherd credited with having invented bucolic poetry.[11]

Daphnis and Chloë : [ad 500] Hu & Wi; a pastoral romance attributed to the Greek sophist Longus. Daphnis was the fosterson of Lamon the goatherd, whereas Chloë was the fosterdaughter of Dryas the shepherd. The tale gave rise to the French Amyot (1559), Tasso’s Aminta, Montemayor’s Diana, d’Urfé’s Sireine, Saint Pierre’s Paul and Virginia, and Allan Ramsay’s Gentle Shepherd.

dapifer : senescallus : seneschal, agent or steward in charge of a lord’s estate in feudal times.[12]

dating : calculating the time of an event by some scientific means, by record, or by estimation. Cf. absolute age, eclipse, radiometric dating.

Dattersøn : Dattersønn [Nw] : [Dn] DaSo, DaSoSo; sororal nephew or grandnephew, daughter’s son or grandson.

daughter : d. : da. : dau. : daugr. : dt. : Da; the female offspring of a man or woman; daughter-in-law, son’s wife; the female penitent of a confessor; any female descendant; dotter [Sw]; nighean [Sc], inghean [Sc]; ei ferch [We]. Cf. ferch, girl, nic.

daughter’s daughter : inghean inghine : [Ir] DaDa ≠SoDa; a descriptive Irish equivalent of the English classificatory term granddaughter.[15]

daughter’s son : mac inghine : [Ir] DaSo ≠SoSo; a descriptive Irish equivalent of the English classificatory term grandson.[16]

daughters of a peer decedent : If a peer dies without an heir, his daughters are allowed to retain whatever styles and precedence they enjoyed during their father’s lifetime. Cf. children of disclaiming peers.

Daughters of Bilitis : DOB : D.O.B. : [1955] a lesbian organization started by Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon in 1955.[17] It published The Ladder.

daughters of Mars and Harmonia : Si=Br & Si=Br; the hostile sisters who stand at opposite poles. As they entered the spirit world, their sexes changed from female into male.[18]

Daughters of the American Revolution : DAR : a lineage society of women who have proved their descent from a patriot ancestor who served in the War of the American Revolution (1775-1783). The National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), is headquartered in Washington, DC. Lines of descent may be based upon either lineage or ramage. Cf. SAR.

Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865 : DUVC : D.U.V.C. : a lineage society headquartered in Washington, DC.[19]

David and Jonathan : Ph & PhSo=Er; the homosexual relationship affirmed by King David himself in 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel, and further evidenced by the bestowal of the Crown of Israel upon David. David had many wives, and many concubines, but he confessed to enjoying a deeper and stronger love for Jonathan ‘even surpassing the love of women.’ The relationship of David and Jonathan was extraordinary for many reasons. David married Jonathan’s sister, in an unsuccessful attempt to sire children from Jonathan’s genetic stock. David also alluded to some love or intimacy with Jonathan’s father King Saul, and some scholars speculate that his intimacy might have actually extended to the father sexually, in which case this royal dalliance would have resembled Edward II’s curious relationships with his father-son favorites Hugh le Despenser the Elder and Hugh the Younger. It is no secret to Euro-Americans that David’s corporeal lineage, called the House of David, or the Arbor of Jesse (his natal father), happens to be the most important lineage in the Western world. The House of David descended directly to Jesus the Christ, through both Joseph and Mary, and has been widely recognized as the bloodline of the Holy Grail, which is supposed to have provided the kings of Europe with their claim to ‘divine right.’ Importantly, Jonathan volitionally abjured his crown, by convincing his father to transfer the kingship to David instead of himself, so the property transfer was a same-sex bestowal, completely devoid of the agency of any bride. Thus, the very inception of Western patriarchy happens to have been based on a marital grant of rights and titles between the same-sex lovers Jonathan and David, even though the subsequent lines of descent were exclusively passed to successors heterosexual and unilineal.

days of the week, Sunday to Saturday : [It] DLMMGVS, the Italian days of the week named domenica, lunedi, martedi, mercoledi, giovedi, venerdi, sabato. The seven names signify ‘of our Lord, of the Moon, of Mars, of Mercury, of Jove, of Venus, Sabbath,’ with Sabbath referring to Saturday the Judaic sabbath.

dđ : d’d : dedi, I gave; the first-person perfect of do or dare ‘give.’ Cf. d’d, item datus.

dd : dđ : d’d : datus, given; datus erat, was given; the past participle. Cf. d’d ‘I gave’; item datus ‘item given’;

Dđ : dedit, he gave; dederunt, they gave; the active past tense of the verb do, dare, ‘to give.’

de : of; a common genitive particle that often serves as a name element, introducing a person’s residence or lordship. The particle de commonly denotes an aristocratic family in Europe, but speakers drop the particle when using the placename to informally refer to an individual. For example, the French refer to Alexis de Tocqueville simply as Tocqueville, not as de Tocqueville.

de jure : ex jure, by right; rightful, rechlich. The phrase lord de jure, or ‘by right,’ usually means that the right to the lordship was assigned posthumously, or at some later date. The subject might have been a claimant to the lordship, but not called by the title during his lifetime. Indeed, a lord de jure, might not even be cognizant of his right to the lordship, because the right might devolve upon him post facto. A husband who assumes his wife’s title is said to hold that title jure uxoris, or by his wife’s right. A man who holds a title in his own right is sometimes said to have it suo jure, in contrastive opposition to having it jure uxoris. When the House of Lords settled the Barony of Hastings upon Jacob Astley in the early nineteenth century, they created a series of perhaps six posthumous Lords Hastings, all of whom were retroactively styled lords de jure.

de la : [Fr feminine] of the; a genitive particle (de) and a definite article (la) used to introduce a feminine noun. Cf. del.

de là : [Fr] of her, by her, e.g. allié en 1770 à Gabrielle de Montaignac, de là [one son].[22]

de le : [Fr masculine] of the; a genitive particle (de) and a definite article (le) used to introduce a masculine noun. Cf. del.

de Rais, Gilles : the personal friend and bodyguard of Joan of Arc. Cf. Joan of Arc.

Dea Syria : [Euphrates] the goddess who fell as an egg from the Moon Egg in heaven, plopping into the waters of the River Euphrates. The fish rolled her egg to the shore, that she could be incubated by pigeons.[25]

deacon : diaconus : the lowest of the three orders of clergy; an overseer of the poor; the master of an incorporated company.

dead : [Sx] mortuus, deprived of life, inanimate; senseless, inactive, motionless.

dead pays : [1546] 5s per day, a base amount that might be raised to 6s 8d per day depending on the rank of dead seaman listed.[26] Cf. wages.

dead pays : payments for fagots, or fictitious men, listed on the muster roll. Once a muster roll was filed with the crown, the treasury disbursed regular payments based on that list. The infantry commenced the practice of accepting payments for dead men as early as the reign of Henry VII, and the custom soon became popular among ship companies as well. The system flourished as a conspiracy of silence, and the officers distributed the extra pay among themselves. Cf. fagot, wages.

Dead Sea scrolls : [300 bc] Hebrew fragments of scripture, notably from Leviticus, discovered in caves near the Dead Sea.

dean : decanus [Lt] : [Fr] chief of ten, tithingman; the second dignity of a diocese; head of ten monks in a monastery; head of a chapter; the name of an officer at each college in Oxford and Cambridge.

dean and chapter : the legal corporation of a church, an assembly of a dean and his subordinate canons.

deanery : the office of a dean; the revenue or house of a dean; a subdivision of an archdeaconry; a collection of rural parishes headed by a dean.

dear : [Sx] beloved, favorite, darling; a common salutation used in English correspondence.

death : [Sx] the extinction of life; mortality, destruction; the state of the dead; the manner of dying; cause of death, destroyer; the instrument of death; murder. Cf. capitis damnatus est, obiit, decessit, defunctus, interfectus est, letum, mors, nex, occisus, uccidere.

death by burning : [1260] immolation until death, as a punishment for a third conviction of homosexuality in Orléans. Cf. homosexuality, death penalty.

death by strangulation : a capital punishment in which the victim is choked to death by means of a bowstring, cord, drop, or handkerchief. When a Fijian chieftain died, it was once customary to strangle all of his widows to death, by means of a garrote pulled by two teams of men. Cf. death by hanging.

death notice : a notice of death filed with a probate court that often provides genealogical particulars. The requirement of a death notice is peculiar to certain times, places, and situations, and might suggest some contest over the decedent’s estate, because a probate court normally does not intrude in private affairs except in cases of intestate deaths and challenges to testament.

death penalty : [1290] Edward I decreed the imposition of the death penalty for anyone convicted of sorcery, apostasy, heresy, or sodomy in 1290. Ironically, Edward I’s son and heir Edward II became the most notorious of all the homosexual kings of England.

death penalty : [1977] capital punishment; an oxymoron, to anyone except believers of afterlife; an expression of animalistc revenge purported as justice; a state avengement on behalf of survivors seeking revenge. Cicero believed that capital punishment is a mark of barbarism, and that murderous acts are inconsistent with the principles of civilized justice and morality. The Whigs started to revoke death penality statutes in 1837, and the practice has since disappeared from the United Kingdom. Remarkably few modern countries allow the death penalty, but those that do include the United States, China, Japan, and the Philippines. In the U.S., there was a 10-year hiatus in death penalties between 1967 and 1977, and when they resumed, some 290 people were executed between 1977 and 1997. Even today, in the U.S., 50% of all the condemned are nonwhite and poor, and 40% are black, so there seems to be a continuing bias against the lower classes. The Filipinos customarily schedule executions for 3 o’clock p.m., the hour of the Christ’s death.

death penalty : [ad 390] A penalty for the victimization of homosexuals. Theodosius I made eros or homosexuality a capital offence in ad 390, the same year he transformed Christianity into a state religion. Cf. Christianity as state religion.

death penalty : [ad 533] the civil punishment for adultery and homosexuality, as was promulgated by Justinian.[27]

death penalty : [ad 787] the punishment for homosexuality decreed by Charlemagne in ad 787.

death penalty : genocide. In ancient China, the imposition of the death penalty connoted the wholesale slaughter of the convict’s family.

death rate of mothers in childbirth : [1450-1700] 25/1000; approximately 25 mothers died in childbirth for every 1,000 mothers giving birth in England between 1450 and 1700.[28]

debility : failure to thrive, either in infancy or old age; the loss of appetite and weight that might presage tuberculosis or cancer.[29]

debruised : having an animal charge surmounted by an ordinary charge or some special charge.

debt : consumer debt. A person’s total consumer debt, represented by lines of credit for purchases, should never exceed 20% of his income.

debt : debitum : that which one man owes to another; that which someone is obliged to do or suffer.[30]

debt-bonded servant : a person bonded to his creditor by some debt. Creditors were reluctant to liquidate such debt, sometimes keeping the debtor for life or selling him or her into another’s service. Servitude of this type sometimes became hereditary. Cf. servant, indentured servant.

Decalogue : new Decalogue, the complete and orthodox Ten Commandments, with no division into two sets of imperatives, positive and negative. Talmudic tradition tells us that this new Mosaic Decalogue was carved on two tables of sappur ‘lapis lazuli.’[31]

Decalogue : old Decalogue; the alternative and older Decalogue written in Chapter 34 of Exodus,[32] which seems to be some ancient formula, refined and codified by Moses. Cf. Commandments, Octalogue.

deceived servant : a servant duped or tricked into working as a subordinate. Cf. servant, slave.

December : 10ber : /12/ : [ad 8] a month of 31 days; literally the 10th month; the 12th month of the Gregorian Calendar, and twelfth month of the Scottish NS Julian Calendar, but the tenth month of the English OS Julian Calendar. Cf. Diciembre [Sp], January, November.

decemvirate : the dignity and office of the ten governors of Rome; any body of ten men.

decks of a ship : [1590] the upperdeck and underdecks of a sea-going vessel. In early Tudor times, men-of-war had two decks, the upper deck and the gundeck underneath. A third deck was added beneath the gundeck, about 1590, and called the orlop. Large ships of some 1,000 tons and more began to add a fourth deck or partial deck beneath the waterline, called a false orlop, about 1600. The gundeck in a warship corresponded to the underdeck or tween-deck of a merchant vessel. In calculating the cargo capacity of a ship, one must count the volumetric tonnage carried on the upperdeck, as well as the tonnage carried underdeck. Various formulae have been used to calculate the interior tonnage, the major changes in capacity calculation having occurred in 1582, 1694, 1773, and 1885. Cf. false orlop, orlop, saloon deck, ship proportions, steerage deck, tonnage.

Declaration of Intention : a sworn statement by an alien declaring his intention to seek citizenship or denization.

decompositive person : a person redundant and transposed, a separate individual invented a researcher through misinterpretation of data. Cf. genealogical adjectives. Opp. compositive.

decresent Moon : the waxing moon, as it appears after the New Moon, and prior to the Full Moon. The open side of the decrescent appears on the left side of the moon, showing the shape of the Hebrew letter Beth á.

deditus rei [dative] : addicted to something, drug addition, a ground for divorce.

deed : transfer, contract, bargain; a gift or grant of land; an exchange or sale of land for payment; a sealed instrument for the conveyance of a fee of land; a formal certification, of a land grant or property transfer, that must be duly executed and delivered, and must be accepted, before it takes affect. A deed does not actually become a deed until it is signed, sealed, and delivered, and finally accepted by the opposite party. Nevertheless, people might sometimes speak of some future deed as an extant deed in the present tense, especially if the grantor is seriously contemplating making a deed, or actually drafting his deed. A deed differs in nature and form from a lease, mortgage, or will. A deed was often written as a simple indenture with two counterparts. When the Jews complained of some fraudulence, a more secure form of tripartite deed was devised, called a foot of the fine. Cf. foot of the fine, lease, mortgage, will.

deed abstract : a record in a deed book; a clerk’s record of a land grant; a concise summary of a property transfer, naming the grantor, grantee, and witnesses, and describing the land being granted, and sometimes showing a graphical land plat.

deed grntee : [Ir Database field] deed grantee, as listed by the Registrar in Ireland.[35] Cf. deed grntr.

deed grntr : [Ir Database field] deed grantor, as listed by the Registrar in Ireland.[36] Cf. deed grntee.

deep-sea fishing : fishing from a boat or ship, positioned upon or trawling the open sea. Opp. in-shore fishing.

deep-water archeology : [1995] exploring the ocean floor for human artifacts, as deeply as 20,000 feet. Robotic submarines are now capable of reaching 98% of the ocean bottoms, and have been effectively employed to explore the Titanic at 12,000 feet, as well as the battleship Bismark at 16,000 feet. Plans are being developed to explore the shipping routes of the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

deficiency love : D-love, affection that arises out of one’s own need to be loved by another; love that meets one’s deficiency needs.[37] Opp. B-love, being love

defloration mania : [1885] the Victorian practice of procuring young girls expressly for their virginity. The demand for defloration became so great, that whoremongers began procuring younger and younger girls, for higher and higher prices. Ordinarily, the appropriate age for defloration was regarded to be 12 to 14 years, but this fad led to the deflowering of girls as young as 9 to 10 years of age. Public outrage led to a police crackdown.

degrees of honor : [1597] nine degrees of nobility; the five noble degrees of gentleman, esquire, knight, baron, and lord, and the four excellent degrees of earl, marquess, duke, and prince.

degrees of honor : [1847] eleven degrees of honor; the six noble degrees of honor, namely gentleman, esquire, knight, baron, baronet, and lord, and the five excellent degrees of honor, namely viscount, earl, marquess, duke, and prince. The degrees of baronet and viscount were added to the previous count of nine degrees of honor, to make eleven degrees of honor.

degrees of kinship in Roman civil law : The Romans reckoned kinship by counting the generational steps, both ascending and descending from the apical ancestor. Thus, the Romans counted two degrees between brothers, by counting one ascending step to the father, and one descending step the ego’s brother. The Romans held first cousins as fourth-degree relatives, to account for two ascending steps (ego’s FaFa =propositus), and then two descending steps (propositus’ SoSo =ego’s first cousin).[38] The Roman degrees of kinship excluded the common ancestor from the count of steps, but included the ego. For the sake of brevity, anthropological reckoning excludes the ego from the count of steps, and excludes as well as the common ancestor (FaBrSo, FaFaBrSoSo).

degrees of lineal descent : the degrees of kinship as reckoned by counting the number of descending steps from a common ancestor. When prospective spouses stand in different generations, the reckoner counts only the longest series of lineal points. This system was used in Catholic canon law to determine degrees prohibited to marry. Canon law employed a separate system for reckoning kinship degrees in matters of inheritance. Cf. degrees of separation.

degrees of relationship : the criteria on which Anglo-American incest rules are based. Americans tend to prohibit sex with close kin, sometimes up to the second or third cousin. Cf. incest prohibitions.

degrees of separation : degrees kinship as reckoned by counting the number of steps from the ego; the denotative range of points in a relationship, including ascending points and descending points, but excluding the ego himself. This type of kinship reckoning is familiar to us as a common system for determining inheritance rights, for it was used in both Roman civil law and Catholic canon law. Canon law also used a separate method of lineal reckoning in determining the incest prohibition. We should note that the indiginous method for reckoning kinship in Ireland happens to include the ego, and therefore differs from the ordinary count by one degree. Cf. col, [gúin,] degrees of lineal descent.

del : [Fr] of the; a contraction of de le or de la, used before the initial vowel of a noun, irrespective of gender.

deliciæ : [50 bc] diversion, pleasure; illicit sex; allurements; extra-marital affairs; pets, boys and girls, minions, favorites.

delirium : an acute state of mental confusion that often develops rapidly from disease, fever, or drug use.

deliver : delivrer : [Fr] to release, set free, save, rescue; to disburden a woman of a child.[40]

delta: δέλτα : Δ : [Gk] the triangular Greek letter delta that signifies the shape of a female’s pubic hair, according to Aristophanes;[41] the triangle that signifies lesbians and gays. Cf. pink triangle, rainbow.

demain : domaine : [Fr] the land a man held of himself; estate in land; the land adjoining a mansion which belongs to the lord himself. Opp. feodum, fee.

deme : [Gk 1833] a local government in ancient Attica; a local population of closely related organisms; a local group lacking unilineal descent.[42]

dementia : a chronic loss of mental faculties that usually can be attributed to some organic cause. The signs of dementia are deteriorations in one’s thinking, memory, motor function, personality, and behavior, and are often concommitant with expressions of apathy and depression. Cf. AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, porphyria, softening of the brain.

Demeter : [Gk] the Greek goddess equivalent to the Roman Ceres. Cf. Dike, Hours.

Demeter at Pellene : the deity worshipped exclusively by women, who barred from the service all males, and even male dogs.[43]

Demetrians : the dead who are buried in an embryo position, so as to be ready for rebirth.

demise : [Fr] death, decease. The term demise was once reserved for the death of a crowned head.

demographics : the systematic comparison of population figures, for the purpose of discerning ratios and trends. Cf. baptism rate, birth rate, burial rate, death rate, one-parent households, population, rate, ratio.

demotic : [1822] common writing, the simplified form of Egyptian hieratic script. Cf. hieroglyphic, hieratic.

denicalis : the tenth day after a death; the solemn purification of a house, following someone’s death. Cf. funerary feast.

denizen : denison : indenizen : dinasddyn [We] inhabitant, someone admitted to residence in a foreign country, an alien admitted to the rights of citizenship; a man of the city; a freeman; someone enfranchised; a stranger made free. Opp. citizen.

denominative : that which gives a name; that which obtains a distinct appellation.

denotative range : a series of abbreviations standing for the points in a complex relationship, such as FaFaSiDa for first cousin once removed. In denotation, it may sometimes be necessary to indicate the sex of the speaker with the prefixes m- or f- (mFaSi, fBrSo), and to indicate the relative age of the kinsman by marking a point (e) for elder or (y) for younger. Cf. primary kin types.

dentition : infantile convulsions, febrile seizures; infected dental cavities; mercury poisoning caused by teething powders.[44]

deodand : Deo dandum : something given to God to pacify his wrath, such as the violent death of a Christian through some act of God.[45]

deposition : a written testimony made in response to a series of questions or interrogatories posed by some competent officer of the court, such as a lawyer. A lawyer prepares a deposition for the purpose of using it to replace the personal and oral testimony (viva voce) of a witness. If the case is a contest between a plaintiff and defendant, a deposer will usually make his statements in the presence of both advocates. The practice of deposing witnesses in advance greatly simplifies and shortens an adjudication.

depositive person : a person whose existence has been proven through some deposition, affidavit, or record, or some muster, poll, or census. Cf. genealogical adjectives.

depth : [1603-1773] D=B*0.5, a ship’s depth, which was reduced to one half (½) the beam, in the time of Sir John Hawkins (1532-1595), in the middle of Elizabeth I’s reign.

depth : the vertical measurement of a ship’s depth, from the upper deck to the keel. Depth is critical dimension used to calculate the ship’s volumetric tonnage. Cf. beam, depth, length, ship proportions, Sir John Hawkins, tonnage, waist.

deputation : the act of deputing someone, or sending someone away with a special commission.

dereliction : the act of forsaking or leaving; the state of having been forsaken.

derivative kinship term : a compound word or phrase defining a relationship, and formed by some modification of an elementary term, in the manner of stepdaughter or son-in-law.[46] Derivative terms sometimes embrace more than one relative, just as sister-in-law may denote both WiSi or BrWi. Cf. descriptive kinship term, elementary kinship term, kinship term.

descend : descendo : to go downwards; to proceed as from an original, to be derived from; to fall in order of inheritance to a successor.

descendant : desc. : [noun] the offspring of an ancestor; one who lineally descends from an ancestor in any degree or generation. Cf. ascendant.

descendants : junior generations, belonging to generational levels -1, -2, et cetera. Cf. generational level.

descendants of Chang Taoling : [Ch] a large descendancy in China, the members of which claim Chang Taoling as their common ancestor. Chang Taoling founded Taoism during the Han dynasty, and his direct male heirs were granted the title tien-shih ‘heavenly teacher’ in the Tang dynasty.[47]

descendants of Confucius : [Ch 1800] The family of Confucius had its seat in Shantung province, and when a descendancy chart was prepared in the eighteenth century, it named some 13,000 living people who could claim Confucius as their common ancestor. The living head of the family holds the hereditary title tien-shih ‘heavenly teacher.’[48]

descendent : [adjective] falling, sinking, descending, proceding from another as an original or ancestor.

descender : a letter with a descending part, such as may be seen in the letters g, q, y, p, which are mostly stops.

descent : unilineal or bilateral descent; a rule of filiation that connects a child at birth with his siblings, and affiliates him to a group of relatives sharing a common ancestor. A family united by descent provides the individual with important rights, but also burdens the individual with responsibilities and obligations. Descent may be categorized as patrilineal, matrilineal, or bilateral. Lineal descent is linkage through vertical lines of consanguineal ties, so it is often biased to either patriliny or matriliny. Bilateral descent organizes relatives by sex rôles, so the collaterals are fairly equal to one another, and divided into parallel cousins and cross cousins. Although descent can often connote authority, descent is actually different from authority. Cf. alternating descent, ambilineal descent, -archy, ascent, double descent, genetic descent, parallel descent, social descent.

descent as inheritance : the recognition of the ego’s vertical ties for the purpose of passing the ownership of tangible or intangible property.

descent as marital regulation : the recognition of an ego’s place in an exogamous system of marriage.

descent as recruitment by birth : the recognition of the ego’s vertical ties that define his status, and place him in a corporate descent group. Cf. corporate descent group.

descent as succession : the recognition of the ego’s vertical ties to establish his right to succeed to ritual office.

descent construct : descent category; an ideological recognition of descent ties, rather than recognition based on consanguinal ties. Opp. descent group.

descent group : a family of relatives claiming descent from a common ancestor, called the apical ancestor, founder, progenitor, or propositus. A descent group focuses upon the common ancestor, whereas kindred are defined egocentrically, from a living proband. A descent group may be subdivided into kindred groups, and sibling groups. A descent group is a group of kindred organized by some consanguinal line of descent, either unilineal or not. A unilineal descent group is often named for a totem, eponymous ancestor, or locality.[50] Cf. kindred, kindred group, sibling group, unilineal descent group. Opp. descent construct.

descent system cognatic : The bilateral descent system on Mafia Island, Tanzania, divides itself into six cognatic descent groups (plural, vikao). A single descent group (singular, kikao) consists of 60 to 200 members, who can claim membership through either male or female links. Residence is less important and genealogy, and genealogies are kept for about 10 generations. A descent group (kikao) shares a common name and common farmland, and demonstrates ritual unity, under the leadership of an elder.[51]

descent system cognatic : The Maori divide themselves into clans (hapu) that are 8 to 10 generations deep. Progeny may claim membership through male or female links, and proximity of residence tends to further define descent lines. Technically, a person may belong to more than one cognatic descent group, but the hapu happens to be preferentially endogamous. As marriages are allowed only within one hapu, the ego tends to acknowledge only those endogamous links, and tends to ignore his other cognatic links. The Maori may be able to choose membership in another hapu, but seldom do so, due to this inability to trace collateral kinsmen. Thus, Maori endogamy interferes and conflicts with the freedom to choose hapu membership.[52]

descent system matrilineal : Br & Si & SiCh. The Khasi of northeast India divide themselves into uxorilocal matrilineal clans (kur), and organize themselves into brother-sister pairs, rather than husband-wife pairs. This Khasi system may be uxorilocal, but it is also avunculocal, for the mother’s brother leaves his house each night to visit his own wife and children, who live in the house of another brother-sister pairing. Opp. descent system patrilineal.

descent system patrilineal : Hu & Wi & Ch. The Juang of northern Orissa, India, consist of some 20,000 people who divide themselves into three levels of segmentation, namely (1) 18 patriclans totemic and exogamous (bok), (2) 38 local descent groups unnamed, and (3) lineages (kutumali) of three generations each, limited to two or three lineages at each village. The residence of each Juang lineage is virilocal, and all three levels of segmentation are exogamous.[53] Cf. bok, kutumali. Opp. descent system matrilineal.

descent system, double unilineal : a joint patrilineal and matrilineal system of controlling inheritance and succession, and regulating marriage. The Kondaiyankottai Maravar are a subcaste of the Tamil Nadu. The patrilineal kottu are local and exogamous, and take charge of the family deities, controlling both inheritance and succession. The matrilineal kilai are migratory groups, regulating marriages and stressing membership. Because the patrilineal and matrilineal functions differ in specifics, this double unilineal descent system must account for both the paternal and maternal lines of descent.[54]

descent systems in Europe : fully developed systems for alliance and descent are fairly rare in Europe, and countries have no positive marriage rules to define a multigenerational descent system.

descent theory : [1953] our traditional notions of kinship, as based upon Anglo-American genealogies and their internal structures. Cf. kinship theory. Opp. alliance theory.

descent, inheritance, succession, and residence : distinctions that connect persons who hold property or office. Descent denotes affinity and blood relation, and inheritance passes to others by the rules of unilineal or bilateral descent. Succession to office or property need not depend upon kinship, and residence happens to form another category of close relation. Although these four distinctions may be important in the narrative of a family, the distinctions of descent and inheritance tend to be restricted to family life, whereas the distinctions of succession and residence may connect people in all kinds of social life.

descriptive kinship term : a compound phrase that joins two or more elementary terms to specify a relative, such as brother’s wife or sister’s grandson. Cf. derivative kinship term, elementary kinship term, kinship term.

descriptive kinship terminology : a set of primary kin terms combined in a single phrase to designate one particular kin type. For example, a society that has no term for ‘maternal uncle’ will sometimes articulate ‘mother’s uncle’ as a temporary, descriptive phrase to designate that genealogical position. Opp. classificatory kinship terminology.

descriptive terminology : [1870] lineal terminology, the terms of a lineal system of kinship; the kinship terms of a people who distinguish lineal relatives from collateral relatives, such as the Eskimo type of kinship, which is the model that categorizes the Anglo-American kinship system. The differentiation between siblings and cousins is a key characteristic of a descriptive system. Cf. bifurcate merging terminology, bifurcate collateral terminology, kin terms, patrism. Opp. classificatory terminology, generational terminology, matrism.

desert : desero : to forsake, leave; to fall away from; to abandon; to quit an army in which one has enlisted.

desertion : [1728-1789] the wife’s desertion of her husband, often in the company of her children, and sometimes in the company of an intruder or adulterer. The Pennsylvania Gazette recorded the stories of some 1,400 women who deserted their husbands in the 62 years from 1728 to 1789.[55] Cf. covenant marriage, no-fault divorce.

destination of a peerage : one of five possible fates for a peerage, namely abeyance, dormancy, extinction, conveyance, or forfeiture. A peerage without heirs must merge with a higher dignity, such as the crown.

destiny : fate, fortune, outcome. The historical destiny of a family or peerage is called by custom its destination. Cf. destination.

destitutio : forsaking, abandoning, as in leaving behind survivors (survived by ...).

devisee : he to whom something is bequeathed by will; a person to whom land or real property has been bequeathed or devised by a last will and testament or codicil.

devisor : a testator who divides his real estate and grants the land to one or more devisee.

devolution : devolutio : successive removal from hand to hand, the act of rolling down.

devolution : the donation of a bride to another family. The concept of devolution can be restricted to titles, peerages, and tenancies, for it signifies the ‘flowing down’ of some patrilineal right into the hands of another patriliny. In genealogy, the word devolution can be used in a far broader sense, denoting instances of bridal or matrimonial donation to a family of donee affines. Devolution certainly implies the existence of sororal niblings (nephews and nieces) bearing surnames and arms that are different from those of the subject family of patrikin. Opp. affination.

devolve : devolvo : to roll down; to move from one hand to another; to fall in succession into new hands.

devotion : the dedication of oneself to a person, cause, doctrine, or dogma. Devotion implies zealotry and exuberant service, and connotes religious or political motivation. Cf. allegiance, fidelity, fealty, loyalty, piety.

[1] According to Duald Mac Firbis, bard of the O’Briens. Roderick O’Flaherty, Ogygia. Graves 1948, edition 1966: 116-117.

[2] Colonel A.G. Puttock, A Dictionary of Heraldry and Related Subjects, New York: Arco Publishing, Inc., 1985: 120.

[3] LIMO.

[4] Grahn 1990: 239.

[5] Adams 1982: 39.

[6] Salmonson 1991: 63.

[7] L’Estrange, quoted by Johnson.

[8] HL: 335.

[9] Diner 1965: 20.

[10] HL: 290.

[11] Ovid, Metamorphoses, 4.277. Boswell 1980: 189.

[12] Douglas 1964: 145.

[13] Katz. Grahn 1990: 55.

[14] Theresa Lang 1997/9/29.

[15] Arensberg 1968: 80.

[16] Arensberg 1968: 80.

[17] Grahn 1990: 303.

[18] Diner 1965: 132.

[19] DUVC, 2025 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20006.

[20] HL: 107.

[21] HL: 306.

[22] LIMO.

[23] Grahn 1990: 282.

[24] HL: 220.

[25] Diner 1965: 15.

[26] Davis 1924: 272.

[27] Boswell 1980: 171.

[28] R.A. Houlbrooke, The English Family 1450-1700, London, 1984: 129. Oestmann 1994: 171.

[29] Gormley 1989: 105.

[30] HL : 201, 230-231, 235, 255.

[31] Graves 1948, edition 1966: 471.

[32] Exodus, 34.14-26.

[33] LIMO.

[34] Varro, 1.6.61.228-229.

[35] Dave B. Strong.

[36] Dave B. Strong.

[37] Maslow. Eglinton 1964: 480.

[38] “Consanguinity,” Catholic Encylopedia. Arensberg 1968: 81.

[39] Grahn 1990: 282.

[40] Shakespeare, quoted by Johnson.

[41] Lys. 151. Adams 1982: 39.

[42] Schusky 1972: 90.

[43] B.Z. Goldberg, The Sacred Fire. Grahn 1990: 130.

[44] Gormley 1989: 105.

[45] HL: 166.

[46] Schusky 1972: 90.

[47] Kang-Hu, 1915.

[48] Kang-Hu, 1915.

[49] Plucknett 1956: 714-715.

[50] Parkin 1997: 19.

[51] Patricia Caplan 1969. Parkin 1997: 172.

[52] Firth 1957. Parkin 1997: 171.

[53] McDougal 1964. Parkin 1992. Parkin 1997: 170-172.

[54] Good 1991: 76-88. Parkin 1997: 173.

[55] Judith Ann Highley Meier, Runaway Women, Elopements and other Miscreant Deeds as Advertised in the Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1789, Closson Press. Ptak 1995, edition 1997: 12.

[56] Johnson.

[57] HL: 162, 314.

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