arsenal

Where does the word "arsenal" come from? It comes from Arabic dar as-sina'a, passing through Italian before entering English (1500s).

Arsenal’s story begins in Arabic: dar as-sina'a meant “a manufacturing workshop.” Literally "house of manufacture", a shipyard or workshop. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Italian as arzanale. Adopted for Venice's great naval shipyard. It reached English by 1500s as arsenal. Broadened to mean any place storing weapons. Today, arsenal means a collection of weapons, or a place where they are made or stored.

1. Stage 1 · Arabic · medieval dar as-sina'a "a manufacturing workshop", literally "house of manufacture", a shipyard or workshop.
2. Stage 2 · Italian · medieval arzanale "a naval dockyard", adopted for Venice's great naval shipyard.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s arsenal "a collection or store of weapons", broadened to mean any place storing weapons.