Ahnentafel

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A genealogical framework that enumerates forebears effectively across generations in a structured format
2. A systematic listing of a person's ancestors assigned numbers to display lineage clearly
3. A method to arrange forebears in a numerical sequence for tracing family descent

Etymology: Ahnentafel is a German compound, literally "ancestors table," built from "Ahnen" (ancestors, the plural of "Ahn," a forefather) and "Tafel" (table, board, or chart). The German term describes a genealogical chart in which a person's ancestors are arranged in a fixed sequence and numbered, so that any ancestor's position can be read off from the number alone. English borrowed the word directly from German. The numbering system is the feature that gives the term its character: the person being charted is numbered 1, their father becomes 2 and their mother 3, and each ancestor's parents are then given double the ancestor's number (for the father) and double plus one (for the mother). Because of this arithmetic, the number itself tells you how many generations back a relative sits and which side of the family they come from.