| Word | Definition |
| Able | Able-bodied, able to work |
| Absented himself/herself | To stay away from, to be missing. May refer to running away |
| Abst. | Abstain, to not vote often due to conflict of interest |
| acquittal/acquit | Broad term meaning not held liable or guilty- may refer to canceling a debt |
| accon | Action, judicial proceeding initiated by a person |
| According to [the] Acte | Referring to an act or law passed, most likely at the colonial level |
| Acct | Account, may refer to given testimony |
| Agt. | Against; may refer to a decision decided not in favor of an interested person |
| Appear; appearance | To be present in court to take part in a case |
| Appertain; app:teine | Belong to as part of something, pertain |
| Apprentice; prentice | Refers to either a person who works for a set number of years in exchange for shelter, food, and education in a trade, or the act of apprenticing |
| Apprize, appraise | Process by which the value of an item or property is determined, oftentimes as part of an inventory of an estate |
| Assignee/Assignees | The person to whom property is transferred |
| Attachment; attachmt | A court order seizing specific property |
| Base | Low, ignoble, or may also refer to a child born out of wedlock (“bastard” or “base child”) |
| Carry | transport |
| Ca:; caske; hogshead | A large wooden container or barrel, most likely for holding tobacco |
| Chattel | Movable, personal property, often referring to cattle and enslaved people |
| Confess judgment | a legal device – usually a clause within a contract – in which a debtor agrees to allow a creditor, upon the nonoccurrence of a payment, to obtain a judgment against the debtor, often without advanced notice or a hearing |
| Constable | An officer of the law appointed by justices to carry out judicial duties (such as corporal punishment, arrests), and to keep the peace |
| Damnify | Hurt or damage |
| Deced. | Deceased, dead |
| Deposition; deposicon | Testimony delivered to inform a court case |
| Discompt | Discount |
| Doth | Does |
| Embezzle; imbezzle | Fraudulent taking of personal property by someone to whom it was entrusted or in a position of trust over the property |
| Execution; execucon | Fulfilling an order [not lethally executing an individual] |
| Fayne; faine | Pretend |
| Forbear | Abstain from doing something |
| Forthwith; forthwth: | Immediately; at the same time/along with |
| herein | In this document |
| Idem | Same as above |
| impaneled | Select and assign a jury for the purpose of deciding a case |
| Inven:rie; Inventory | A list of property, usually all of the personal property, including chattel, of a deceased person |
| Issue; yssue | A disagreement submitted to the court, or a child or lineal descendant |
| Letter of attorney/lttr of atty | Document signed by a person allowing someone else to act in that person’s behalf in court or legal matters. May be broad or specific to a particular legal matter |
| Libtie; liberty | Freedom, within reason |
| loose | Disorderly, or sleazy |
| Mark/Marke | Initials or symbols from a person that validates a document concerning them in place of a signature |
| Mercht. | Merchant |
| Moiety | Half of a thing |
| Moneth | month |
| Nihil dicit | Refers to a situation where a defendant or summoned party fails to respond or defend themselves in a given timeframe |
| Non pros., Non prosequitur | Judgment entered in favor of the defendant when the plaintiff has not continued their action |
| nuncupative | Will or testament declared orally |
| opprobious | Scolding in language |
| Orphants; orphts | orphans |
| P:cell; p:sell | “parcel,” or quantity of something |
| Pde: | Paid |
| P:ll | Peril, risk |
| Plt. | Plaintiff, person initiating a lawsuit against the defendant |
| P:porcionable; proporcionable | proportionate |
| P:secute | Prosecute in court, or sometimes argue or pursue |
| Pte.; Pt.; part | Part, or share |
| P:ties | Parties; participants interested in the outcome of a trial or involved in an agreement |
| probate | the judicial process whereby a will is “proved” in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased |
| Remit; remitt | To send back, usually a fine paid by someone |
| Repaire; repair | Go to; visit |
| Scire facias | a judicial writ founded on some matter of record and requiring the party proceeded against to show cause why the record should not be enforced, annulled, or vacated |
| Seal/seale | A way to validate a document in place of or in addition to a signature. Sometimes made of wax, but in court records mostly drawn or written. |
| Security | Payment by a party or other person, ordered and in an amount determined by the court, refundable when that party completes an obligation. A security is sometimes paid by a person or a friend as a promise that they will behave well in court. |
| Sde | Said; referecing particular person mentioned earlier in the entry |
| Sterl: | pounds sterling |
| Stocks | A “prison for the feet” made of metal or wood to hold someone by their hands or feet in an uncomfortable position as punishment, often in a public place |
| Tenor | Exact wording, purpose, or meaning of a legal document |
| Tithable | Taxable, counted towards the number of laborers in a household for the purposes of a poll tax usually paid by the head of a household [In colonial Virginia specifically]. The tax’s revenue supported the civil government. This included, after General Assembly legislation, free white males, all enslaved people, and Indigenous servants age sixteen and older. |
| Tob: (variation: sweet-scented) | Tobacco, a form of currency |
| Under Hand | Under the signature of an authorized person |
| Vizt | Latin abbreviation meaning “namely,” often coming before a detailed list |
| Warrt | Warrant; legal document authorizing someone to take action, sometimes from a judge permitting law enforcement to arrest or take possession of something |
| Wch: | which |
| Widd. and relict; widow | Woman whose husband is deceased and is the survivor of the union, may refer to control over the estate of the deceased person |
| Wth: | with |
| Wth Childe; with Child | pregnant |
| Wth: costs | In addition to fees incurred by the court, usually paid by the losing party in the court case |
| yssue | See, issue |
| Yt: | that |
Definitions above provided by:
Black’s Law Dictionary, thelawdictionary.org
“Colonial Tithables,” Research Guides, Library of Virginia
https://lva-virginia.libguides.com/tithables
Lexicon of Early Modern English, University of Toronto, Leme.library.utoronto.ca
Legal Information Institute, Cornell University, law.cornell.edu/wex/
