Daily Ancestoravus
Avus is Latin for "grandfather" (avia is grandmother); avus paternus is the father's father.
Avus means grandfather. Some registers name the grandparents of a newborn, labeled avus paternus (father's father), avus maternus (mother's father) and the like. In older Latin avus can also mean ancestor more generally.
Grandparent names in a baptism entry can carry a family back a whole generation in one record, so read to the end of every entry.
As seen in a recordGrandparent line of a Latin baptism entry
Avus paternus: Georgius Miller; avia materna: Catharina Weber
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "avus." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/latin/avus. Last checked 2026-10-01.