Floruit

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Floruit (often abbreviated fl. or flor. and sometimes italicized to show it is Latin) refers to a period of time during which a person, school, movement or even species was active or flourishing. It is the third person, singular, perfect tense form of the Latin verb florere — 'to flourish'. It is widely used in genealogy, and to a lesser extent historical writing, when the birth or death dates are unknown.

For example, if there are wills attested by John Jones in 1204, 1207 and 1229, and a record of his marriage in 1197, one would write "John Jones (fl. 1197–1229)".