Daily Ancestordispensatio
Dispensatio is Latin for a dispensation, permission from a bishop or the pope to set aside a church rule, usually an impediment to marriage.
Dispensatio means dispensation. In marriage entries it shows the couple needed permission to marry despite an impediment, most often a blood or in-law relationship. Bishops could grant many dispensations; some were reserved to the pope.
Phrases such as cum dispensatione apostolica (with papal dispensation) or dispensati in tertio gradu consanguinitatis are a gift: they tell you the couple were related. Separate dispensation files may survive in the diocesan archive.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "dispensatio." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/latin/dispensatio. Last checked 2026-10-10.