| absolute power | unlimited, complete power | absolute Macht |
| ammunition | powder and shot for guns | Munition |
| aristocracy | nobility | Adel |
| bankrupt | unable to pay one's debts | bankrott |
| bourgeois | person who belongs to the bourgeoisie | Bürgerlicher, bürgerlich |
| Committee of Public Safety | Wohlfahrtsausschuß | |
| clergy | priests, bishops etc. | Klerus |
| conscription | Wehrpflicht, allgemeine ~ | |
| crop failure | bad harvest | Mißernte |
| customs duty | tax on imported goods | Einfuhrzoll |
| Divine Right of Kings | König von Gottes Gnaden | |
| decree | order, command of the king | Dekret, Erlaß |
| discontent | dissatisfied | unzufrieden |
| division of powers | Gewaltenteilung | |
| election | choosing members of government | Wahl |
| estates | die Stände | |
| expense | costs | Kosten |
| eye-witness | a person who has seen s.th. happen | Augenzeuge |
| feudal dues | Lehenssteuer, ~abgaben | |
| feudal system, feudalism | social system in medieval Europe whereby s.o. got land from a superior in exchange for service | Feudalsystem |
| incompetent | unable to do o.'s work properly | inkompetent, unfähig |
| inflation | increase in the amount of money, but the money can buy less, so the prices are higher | Inflation |
| Legislative Assembly | Gesetzgebende Versammlung | |
| local lord | Lehensherr | |
| loyal | faithful | treu, loyal |
| National Assembly | Nationalversammlung | |
| nobility, nobles | all persons of high rank and birth | Adel |
| opponent | Gegner | |
| oppose | take the other side | opponieren, gegen etw. sein |
| peasant | farmer | Bauer |
| power, share the ~ | Gewalt, teilen der ~ | |
| privilege | special right | Vorrecht |
| propaganda | information presented to make people believe s.th. | Propaganda |
| reduce, reduction | verringern, Verringerung | |
| represent | act for others, in the name of ~ | vertreten |
| representative | Vertreter | |
| royal family | family of a king | königliche Familie |
| Estates General | Generalstände | |
| serf | labourer who was not allowed to leavee the land on which he worked | Leibeigener |
| setback | Rückschlag | |
| sovereign | Herrscher, Landesherr | |
| subject | person over whom the sovereign had the power | Untertan |
| tax (to be taxed) | money you have to pay to the state | Steuer (besteuert sein) |
| tenant | person who holds and pays rent for a house or land | Pächter |
| war, civil ~ | Krieg, Bürger~ |