Daily Ancestorpatruus
Patruus is Latin for uncle on the father's side, the father's brother.
Patruus means the father's brother. Because he shares the family surname, a patruus often appears as a sponsor or witness with the same last name as the child.
Compare with avunculus, the mother's brother. Registers that use both words tell you which side of the family the uncle came from.
As seen in a recordSponsor in a Latin baptism entry
patrinus: Martinus Hofer, patruus
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "patruus." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/latin/patruus. Last checked 2026-10-01.