Maharlika

The maharlika (Baybayin pre-virama: ᜋᜑᜎᜒᜃ meaning freeman or freedman) were the feudal warrior class in ancient Tagalog society in Luzon, the Philippines. They belonged to the lower nobility class similar to the timawa of the Visayan people. In modern Filipino, however, the word has come to refer to aristocrats or to royal nobility,[1] which was actually restricted to the hereditary maginoo class.[2]

  1. ^ Jamaique, Mona (1971). Hymes, Dell H. (ed.). Pidginization and Creolization of Languages. CIP Archive. p. 240.
  2. ^ Morrow, Paul (January 16, 2009). "Maharlika and the ancient class system". Pilipino Express. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2012.