gabelle
Americannoun
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a tax; excise.
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French History. a tax on salt, abolished in 1790.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of gabelle
First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English gabul, gabel (probably confused with gavel 2 ), from Middle French, from Italian gabella, from Arabic qabālah “tax, receipt”
Explanation
The gabelle was a notoriously hated salt tax in pre-revolutionary France. Not only did it tax salt, it forced people to buy a certain amount of it every week. For centuries, the French government held a monopoly on salt, which was essential for preserving food. The monarchy's gabelle on this basic necessity was enforced at wildly different rates across the country, making it a major grievance against the crown. Salt smuggling became common, and a paramilitary force employed by the government, known as the "Salt Police," or gabelous, fueled deep-seated rage and mass riots. The gabelle was repealed in 1790, not long after the start of the French Revolution in 1789.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The gabelle, or salt tax, was so high during the reign of Louis XVI that it became a major grievance and eventually helped ignite the French Revolution.
From Time Magazine Archive
By good luck at this time came the royal commissioners to establish the gabelle or tax in the district of Saintonge, and Palissy was employed to survey the salt marshes.
From Triumphs of Invention and Discovery in Art and Science by Fyfe, J. Hamilton
So did the figs, which rolled about in every direction, while the boys scrambled for them, and some laughed, while others shouted angrily, "Take off the gabelle!"
From Naples Past and Present by Norway, Arthur H.
He promised to dispense with all other subsidies and to make his son swear to demand nothing further as long as the gabelle was imposed.
From Charles the Bold Last Duke of Burgundy, 1433-1477 by Putnam, Ruth
The same year he published a pamphlet against feudal aids and the gabelle, for which he was denounced and arrested, but provisionally released.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1 "Austria, Lower" to "Bacon" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
