Alva (?ælv?; Spanish ?al?a) or Alban (Biography) Duke of, title of Fernando Alvarez de Toledo. 1508?82, Spanish general and statesman who suppressed the Protestant revolt in the Netherlands (1567?72) and conquered Portugal (1580)Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014Al?va (??l v?) also Alba n. Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of, 1508?82, Spanish general who suppressed a Protestant rebellion in the Netherlands in 1567. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.