algarabia

[victor steinbok]

Algarabia/algaravia is a Spanish/Portuguese word for "gibberish". A
commenter on Mark Liberman's post on "mighty white of you" today mentioned
it, in passing. Just to be sure, here's a relevant page:

http://goo.gl/aNS7B

The second definition suggests it's the term given to the foreign tongue
(Arabic--and it comes from Arabic, of course) "by the Christians at the time
of the Reconquista". Reconquista generally applies to the Iberian kingdoms
and it lasted until 1492 (nearly 800 years), but Southern Italy and Sicily
were cleared of Muslims by Norman forces by 1072, then the French were
cleared out from Sicily 200 hundred years later. Subsequent period saw
Sicily and later Naples governed by Kings of Aragon and then other Spanish
dynasties. So the term may well have existed in Southern Italy either on its
own or from Spanish. It also might have had variants.

Now, bear with me for a moment.

My ignorance of historical phonology precludes a more educated guess, but I
noticed that the OED has "garbage" and "garble" with fuzzy etymology.


Garble (n) is listed back to 1503 in some forms:

probably < Italian garbello (whence French grabeau, which has had all the
> English senses), < garbellare to garble v


 Garble (v) is earlier (1483) and the uses quite diverse:

Apparently originally a term of Mediterranean commerce, <
> Italian garbellare, < Arabic gharbala (also karbala) to sift, select,
> related to ghirbāl, kirbāl, sieve; compare Spanishgarbillare to sift
> corn, garbillo corn-sieve. The Italian word was adopted also in French; the
> past participle garbellé occurs in a quot. given by Godefroy erroneously
> s.v. gerbele; from 16th cent. the vb. appears as grabeler.


The first definition is most interesting, but it's not the earliest one
listed:

1. trans. To remove the garble or refuse from (spice, etc.); to sift,
> cleanse (const. of); also, to sift out. Obs.


A more specific second definition goes back further:

2. a. To select or sort out the best in (any thing or set of things); to
> take the pick of. Now rare exc. in to garble the coinage . Also with out.



Garbage is earlier, even more obscure in origin, and the earliest cite
(1430) refers to offal or entrails.

Of obscure origin; probably adopted < Anglo-Norman, like many other words
> found in early cookery books. Derivation < Old French garbe sheaf is
> probable for sense 4, and possible for the other senses



Is it plausible that one or both of these might be related to "algarabia"?
The dates fit, there is both a Norman and a Spanish connection through Italy
and there is no competing explanation, at the moment.

VS-)

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