trưởng bạ
Definition
- Noun:
- Village scribe / Village record-keeper: The historical title for the person responsible for maintaining the official registers and documents in a traditional Vietnamese village (làng). This was an administrative role in the old communal system.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Ông ấy từng là trưởng bạ của làng này. (He was once the village scribe of this village.)
- Mọi hộ khẩu đều được ghi chép cẩn thận bởi vị trưởng bạ. (All household registrations were carefully recorded by the village record-keeper.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "trưởng bạ" is now largely historical and archaic. It refers specifically to the administrative structure of pre-modern Vietnamese society. In contemporary contexts, modern administrative titles are used instead.
Variants and Related Words
- Lý trưởng (n): Village chief; the head of the village, a position of higher authority than the .
- Thư ký (n): Secretary; the modern term for a clerical or record-keeping officer.
Synonyms
- Scribe
- Record-keeper
- Registrar (in a village context)
- Clerk (archaic, administrative)
Notes on Usage
- This word is almost exclusively encountered in historical texts, literature set in the past, or when discussing traditional village governance. It is not used for modern administrative roles.