Garbelage
/ˈɡɑːrbəlɪdʒ/noun
The refuse or inferior material removed when spices or other goods were sorted and cleaned.
Did you know?Garbelage arose from the medieval practice of “garbling” spices, a regulated process of sifting out impurities before sale—not originally the meaning “to distort speech.”
Etymological Timeline
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
ġarbal(a)
“To sift or cleanse using a sieve.”
13th Century
Anglo-French
garbeler
“To sift spices and remove impurities or inferior matter.”
14th Century
Middle English
garbelage
“The waste or refuse separated from merchandise during sifting.”
15th Century
English
garble
“To sort or cleanse goods, especially spices, by removing unwanted material.”
16th Century
English
garble
“To mix up, mutilate, or distort information; a figurative extension of the earlier sorting process.”
Modern English
English
garbelage
“An obsolete or historical term for discarded material produced by garbling goods.”
Explore more surprising origins