Gabelle
/ɡəˈbɛl/noun
A tax, especially the former French tax on salt.
Did you know?Under the French monarchy, the gabelle forced many people to buy a legally fixed amount of taxed salt, while salt smugglers risked severe punishment; resentment toward it helped fuel the French Revolution.
Etymological Timeline
Early Medieval Period
Arabic
qabāla
“A tax, revenue obligation, or financial contract”
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin
gabella
“A tax or duty, borrowed through Mediterranean commercial exchange”
13th Century
Old French
gabelle
“A tax or levy, increasingly associated with the salt duty”
14th–18th Century
French
gabelle
“The compulsory royal salt tax imposed in much of France”
18th Century
French
gabelle
“A hated fiscal institution and a major target of popular resentment before the Revolution”
Modern English
English
gabelle
“A historical tax, especially the French salt tax”