Hidalgo (nobility)

A hidalgo (/hɪˈdælɡoʊ/; Spanish: [iˈðalɣo]) or a fidalgo (Portuguese: [fiˈðaɫɣu], Galician: [fiˈðalɣo]) is a member of the Spanish or Portuguese nobility; the feminine forms of the terms are hidalga, in Spanish, and fidalga, in Portuguese and Galician. In popular usage, the term hidalgo identifies a nobleman without a hereditary title. In practice, hidalgos were exempted from paying taxes, yet owned little real property.

Since the twelfth century, the phrase fijo d'algo ("son of something") and its contraction, fidalgo, were used in the Kingdom of Castile and in the Kingdom of Portugal to identify a type of nobility. In Portugal, the cognate remained fidalgo, which identified nobles of a similar status to a hidalgo in Spain. In the Kingdom of Aragón, the infanzón was the noble counterpart of the Castilian hidalgo. The pronunciation changes in Spanish occurred during the late Middle Ages, the letter-F sounding was lost, and replaced with the letter-H spelling and pronunciation of hidalgo. (see History of the Spanish language)

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