Incrementados

Incrementados is a term found in Spanish and Portuguese texts that can function in different ways depending on context. As an adjective, incrementado (plural incrementados) describes something that has been increased or augmented, such as quantities, rates, or measurements. As a noun, incrementados has occasionally been used to refer to people who have received a formal increment—typically a raise in salary, a promotion, or an increase in land or title—within a historical bureaucratic or military system. The term is not tied to a single, widely recognized organization or movement, and its exact meaning is highly dependent on the source and period.

Origins and usage of the noun form are primarily found in archival, legal, or literary materials where authorities granted increments of pay, rank, or property. In these contexts, incrementados can denote a cohort of individuals linked by the type of concession they received, rather than a coherent party or faction. Because of regional variation and the fragmentary nature of historical records, the label does not correspond to a standardized group in standard histories.

Modern usage of the term as a proper noun is rare. In contemporary Spanish and Portuguese, incrementados is more often encountered as a generic descriptor meaning “those who have been increased” or, when used as a proper noun, appears mainly in historical discussions or in fictional or journalistic texts.