English
gabelle
Gabelle comes from French gabelle ‘gabelle, salt tax’, from Italian gabella ‘duty’, and ultimately from Arabic قَبَالَة ‘bail, guaranty’.
- Arabicc. 500–presentقَبَالَة‘bail, guaranty’
- Italianc. 1300–presentgabella‘duty’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentgabelle‘gabelle, salt tax’
- Englishearliest quotation 1998same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Arabicc. 500–presentقَبَالَة‘bail, guaranty’
- Italianc. 1300–presentgabella‘duty’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentgabelle‘gabelle, salt tax’
- Englishearliest quotation 1998same form
Earliest quotation: 1998, William Caferro, Mercenary Companies and the Decline of Siena: “The proceeds of the gabelle on retail wine were…”
Every English word from Arabic قَبَالَة
Today it means
noun A tax; especially, the tax on salt levied in pre-Revolutionary France.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Arabic قَبَالَة / gabelle