THE LIBRARY OF IBERIAN RESOURCES ONLINE

Emigrants and Society :
Extremadura and America in the Sixteenth Century

Ida Altman

Glossary

alarife: mason, master builder

albañil: mason

alcabala: sales tax

alcacer: barley field

alcalde: magistrate

alcalde de la hermandad: militia official

aldea: hamlet

alférez: ensign

alguacil: constable

alhóndiga: public granary

aljama: community of Jews or Moors

almojarifazgo: customs duties

aparejador: builder

arcediano: archdeacon

arcipreste: archpriest

arriero: muleteer

arroba: weight of twenty-five pounds

asiento: entry in a registry, site

audiencia: high court

ayuntamiento: city or town council

bachiller: holder of a bachelor's degree

baldío: uncultivated land

bando: faction, party

barbecho: harvest

bellota: acorns

berbí: cloth made from uncombed wool

berrocal: rocky land

bodegonero: tavern keeper

cabildo: council

cahiz: twelve fanegas

calero: lime burner

calle: street

cantero: stonecutter

cañada: sheep walk

capellán: chaplain

capellanla: chantry, chaplaincy

capilla: chapel

capitulaciones: charters, licenses

carnero: sheep

carretero: carter

casado: married person

casas principales: town house, urban palace

casilla: hut

cédula: royal ordinance

censo al quitar: redeemable mortgage

censo enfitéutico: lease (of agricultural land)

cerrajero: locksmith

ciudad: city

clérigo: cleric, priest

clérigo presbítero: priest ordained to say mass

clérigo vicario: vicar

cofradía: confraternity, lay brotherhood

colegio: college, academy

colmenar: apiary, hives

comendador: member of a military order

contador: accountant

coro: choir stalls

corona: 350 maravedís

corredor: gallery, arcade, corridor

corregidor: royal municipal administrator, magistrate

criadero: nursery, stockbreeding farm

criado: servant, retainer

cura: parish priest

curador: guardian

chancillería: royal chancery court

chantre: cantor

charca: pond

dehesa. pasture

depositario general: treasurer, trustee

deudo: relative

doctor: holder of a doctorate

ducado: 375 maravedís

ejido: municipal commons, grazing lands

encabezamiento: sales tax assessment

encomienda: grant of right to tribute from Indians of a designated area or jurisdiction

encomendero: holder of an encomienda

escribano: notary

escudero: squire

escudo: 400 maravedís

fanega: bushel

fanegada: measure of land (about 1 ½ acres); bushel

fiador: guarantor

fiel ejecutor: inspector

fiscal: treasurer or public prosecutor

fuero: set of privileges, town charter

hacienda: wealth, estate; treasury

heredad: estate

herrador: farrier, horseshoer

herrero: blacksmith

hidalgo: member of privileged, tax-exempt class

hidalguía: privileged status

hijo natural: illegitimate child

hipoteca: mortgage

hortelano: gardener

huerta, huerto: garden, orchard

información: testimonial

jornalero: day laborer (rural)

juez del rey: royal judge

juro: annuity on certain taxes or revenues

justicia real: royal magistrate

labrador: farmer

ladino: Spanish speaking

lavadero: place for washing wool

letrado: lawyer

licenciado: holder of a master's degree

lugar: hamlet, small village

macho: mule

maestrazgo: lands under the jurisdiction of one of the military orders

maravedí: basic unit of Spanish currency

mayoral: foreman

mayorazgo: entail, also heir to an entail

mayordomo: steward

médico: physician

mercader: merchant

merced: grant (of money, annuities, privileges)

mesón: inn

mestizo: person of Spanish and Indian parentage

molino: mill

montes: woodlands, low mountains

morisco : Spaniard of Moorish descent

mozo: lad, youth

obra pía: endowed charity

oficial: artisan

oidor: judge

olivar: olive grove

oposición: competitive examination

padrinos: godparents

padrón: census list of taxpayers

palomar: dovecote

pastor: shepherd

pechero: taxpayer

pelaire: wool carder

pellejero: wineskin maker

peón: laborer

peso: unit of currency in the Indies of varying value ("peso de oro" around 400 maravedís, "peso de plata" around 270 maravedís)

portada: entranceway

portales: arcades (of a plaza)

portero: doorkeeper

preceptor de gramática: Latin instructor

predicador: preacher

probanza: proof (evidence or testimony relating to a person's antecedents, activities, etc.)

procurador de causas: untitled lawyer

procurador general: solicitor, representative

propios: property held by a municipality

provisor: vicar general

pueblo: village, town

quintal: weight of 100 pounds

rastrojo: stubble

real: 34 maravedís

recuero: driver

regidor: councilman

regimiento: office of councilman

relator: secretary

religioso: member of a religious order

renta de yerba: rents of pasturage

repartimiento de indios: synonym for encomienda in Spanish America

repostero: wall hanging with coat of arms

república: commonwealth

retablo: altarpiece

ribera: riverside

señorío: lordship, jurisdiction

sesmero: representative

solar: foundation or lot

soltero: unmarried person

tendero: shopkeeper

teniente de corregidor: deputy of the corregidor

tercio y quinto: "third and fifth"; the major portion of an estate

término: jurisdiction or district

tierra: usually a city and its jurisdiction

tierra baldía: uncultivated land, crown land

tintorero: cloth dyer

tratante: trader, peddler

tundidor: cloth shearer

vecino: citizen

veedor: inspector

velarte: broadcloth

vicario: vicar

villa: town, city

viña: vineyard

zapatería: shoemaker's shop or trade

zapatero: shoemaker

zurrador: leather currier