gabelle

American  

[guh-bel] / gəˈbɛl /

noun

1. a tax; excise.

2. French History. a tax on salt, abolished in 1790.

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gabelle British  

/ ɡæˈbɛl /

noun

1. French history a salt tax levied until 1790

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Other Word Forms

• gabelled adjective

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”

Example Sentences

This gabelle became permanent, giving rise to networks of smugglers and fomenting centuries of revolution and rebellion — even providing the central character in Balzac’s novel “Les Chouans” — until it was officially nixed in 1945.

From New York Times

And he said he’d hold a referendum on the new mosque, already under construction in a mainly immigrant neighborhood called La Gabelle.

From Reuters

On a hot day in May, a short drive from Frejus town hall, a dozen volunteer builders were hard at work on the "al Fath" mosque, which had already risen two storeys above its foundations in the middle of La Gabelle's apartment blocks.

From Reuters

"Everyone wants to appropriate her, and have their piece," said Orleans deputy mayor, Jean-Pierre Gabelle, "but this festival will put her back where she belongs."

From Seattle Times

The gabelle on fruit was imposed early in the year; and on many days of spring, even before the burden of the tax was felt, crowds ran beside the Viceroy's coach demanding angrily that the duty should be repealed.

From Project Gutenberg