That -ix ending
It’s still busy season around these parts — catching up after a series of institutes and getting ready for another one coming up fast.
So…
Another snippet of genealogy in this busy time.
And this one is a snippet of terminology that’s too often overlooked.
Don’t say “ick” when you see that -ix!
Really.
The Legal Genealogist insists that you give her — yes, her — all the respect she’s due.
The -ix ending for a legal term in historical records is telling us something that we all need to know.
It’s telling us that the person involved is female.
In other words:
• The estate administrator named Eunice is male. An estate administratrix named Eunice is female.
• The executor of a will named Evelyn is male. The executrix named Evelyn is female.
• The complaining party in a chancery case, that orator named Jean, is male. But the oratrix named Jean is female.
That’s why you shouldn’t say “ick” when you see that -ix — it’s a clue we often need.
Cite/link to this post: Judy G. Russell, “Snippet 2021 v.7,” The Legal Genealogist (https://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog : posted 10 Aug 2021).
SOURCES
I have a legal case in Virginia, 1861, in which two brothers are Orators and their sister is an Oratrix in deposing their complaint.
The use of “orator” and “oratrix” says it’s a chancery case.