As I was writing a blog post about epidemies, I was already thinking about creating basic dictionary of death causes - Czech-German-English dictionary, because many of parishes in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia had parish books in German. And here it is. These are just those most common death causes as taken from parish books of Horní Záhoří (South Bohemia), Slabce (Central Bohemia), Nový Přerov (Moravia) and Kateřinky (Silesia).
This dictionary covers most common death causes during the end of 18th and first half of 19th century. As the medical knowledge improved there are more and more causes in the registries and it's almost impossible to cover all of them. The death causes here are those you will most probably see in the death registries. For example - death registry of Nový Přerov shows only 26 different death causes between 1784 and 1810.
I'll add new causes time to time and if you need any death cause translated, just let me know in comments. Great help with determining translation from German to English provides Rudi's list of archaic medical terms.
You can also use this dictionary of German causes of death that translate it to current Czech and then translate the Czech term using online translator.
Death from the public water system - infected water was one of the largest problems of our past.
I'll add new causes time to time and if you need any death cause translated, just let me know in comments. Great help with determining translation from German to English provides Rudi's list of archaic medical terms.
You can also use this dictionary of German causes of death that translate it to current Czech and then translate the Czech term using online translator.
| Czech | German | English |
| boule | Angina | tonsillitis |
| božec | Fraiß | infantile convulsions |
| břišní tyfus | Faulfieber | typhus / typhoid fever |
| černý kašel | Keuchhusten, Stickhusten | whooping cough |
| horečka | Fieber | fever |
| horečka / úpal | hitzige Fieber | high fever / heatstroke |
| horká nemoc | Fieber | fever |
| chrlení krve | Blutsturz | haemorrhage |
| kašel | Husten | cough |
| katar | Karthar | catarrh |
| mozková mrtvice | Gehirnentzündung | brain apoplexy |
| mrtvice | Schlagfluß | apoplexy |
| mrtvice | Schlag | apoplexy |
| náhle | plötzlich | suddenly |
| nehoda | Unglück(sfall) | accident |
| nemoc | Krankheit | illness |
| neštovice | Blattern, Pocken | variolla, pox |
| neznámý | unbewust, unbekant | unknown |
| obvyklá | gewöhnlich | common |
| otok | Geschwulst | tumor |
| píchání v boku | Seitenstechen | stitches in the side |
| porod | Geburt | birth |
| prsní vodnatenost | Brustwassersucht | hydrothorax |
| průjem | Durchfall | diarrhea |
| při porodu | Kindsnöthen | during the birth |
| přirozenou smrtí | natürlich | natural death |
| psotník | Fraiß | infantile convulsions |
| rakovina | Krebs | cancer |
| sešlost věkem | Altersschwäche | senility |
| slabost | Schwäche | weakness |
| sněť | Brand | gangrene |
| souchotiny | Lungensucht | tuberculosis |
| spála | Scharlach | scarlet fever |
| spalničky | Masern | measles |
| starost | Altershalber | senility |
| stářím | Altershalber | because of age |
| škrofle, krtice | Skrofel | Scrofula |
| šlak | Schlag | apoplexy |
| tyfus | Nervenfieber | typhoid fever / typhus |
| tyfus | Petetschen | typhus / typhoid fever |
| úbytě | Abzehrung | consumption, often tuberculosis |
| úplavice | (Brech)ruhr | dysentery |
| věkem sešlý | Altersschwäche, Marasmus (senilis) | because of age |
| vodnatelnost | Wassersucht | dropsy |
| záduch(a) | Asthma | asthma |
| zánět | Apostem | inflammation |
| zápal plic | Lungenentzündung | pneumonia |
| zarděnky | Frieseln | rubeola |
| záškrt, prým | Steckkarthar, Bräune | diphteria |
Invaluable.
ReplyDeleteGreat list. However, I think I need a translation of the English, too! Hydro-thorax? Catarrh? Variolla? I guess that's what dictionaries are for. :)
ReplyDeleteTry Rudi's list - there is a link to it in the blog post. :) There are thousands (ehm, probably millions) of medical terms I have no idea what they mean. And please, let me know if you find any translation which is more known among people (such as, I don't know, pox for variolla). Thanks!
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DeleteI asked google for a common term for pox of Variolla and it said SMALLPOX is an infectious disease caused by the variola virus. Hope that helps.
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ReplyDeleteexelent!!!! great list,thanks Blanka
This is a great list. And now I know what some of those English terms actually mean. :) (Apoplexy is a word I've always heard--but now that I see the German next to it, I realize it's a stroke.)
ReplyDeleteI see psotnik come up quite a lot. I wonder what would cause that to be so frequent among children back then? Some people have epileptic convulsions these days, but it's definitely the exception--not something you usually expect to be fatal.
Ah, stroke! Thanks!
DeletePsotník... I'll write a special blog post about this "disease".
Blanka,
ReplyDeleteI want to let you know that your wonderful blog post is listed in today's Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/08/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-august-29.html
Have a great weekend!
Po těžkém porodu = After a difficult birth
ReplyDeleteas found in Trojany, (Žebnice farní) Plzeň-sever okres, Plzeňský kraj, Bohemia
Found another German spelling: souchotiny (Czech) Schwindsucht (German) acute tuberculosis (English)
ReplyDeleteThank you Blanka!! You just answered one of my questions about my Great, Great Uncle Hugo Schmitt!! He died at age 16 months from diphtheria! :-) Your blog is invaluable to those of us wanting to learn all we can about our ancestors other than just names & dates!! Sandy
ReplyDeleteThanks for your appreciation, I'm happy to help! :)
DeleteJust thought I'd let you know that I used this to figure out "apostem." Děkuju mnohokrát!
ReplyDeletePlease add a Latin column to your cause of death dictionary.
ReplyDeleteHow about: zluta zyminis -- yellow fever? 1810 reference.
ReplyDeleteI recently came across your article and have been reading along. I want to express my admiration of your writing skill and ability to make readers read from the beginning to the end. I would like to read newer posts and to share my thoughts with you. English vocabulary advanced
ReplyDeleteYour cause of death dictionary is wonderful thank you! Would love to know what Psotnik means SO many little ones die from "it" ?? Did you do the special blog on it ?? !
ReplyDeleteYes, there is a special blog about it: http://czechgenealogy.nase-koreny.cz/2014/08/psotnik-why-did-so-many-children-die.html
DeleteI came across a cause of death that I don't see on your list. It looks like "chřadnutí". The death is for a Terezie Bušta and source: https://digi.ceskearchivy.cz/6456/124/2574/1268/150/0
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