The English word tariff dates from the late sixteenth century. It referred to an arithmetical table or an official list of custom duties and derived from the Italian tariffa, meaning “a price or assessment.” That word came from the Latin tarifa, a list of prices, which derived from the Arabic ta’rif, which also described an inventory of fees. That Arabic word stems from a verb meaning “to make known.”
Or. Tar’if ‘became tarifa when it named a medieval town on the southern tip of Spain where ships were paid to pass through. My research doesn’t definitively explain which came first, the payments or Tarifa, the town.
Hundreds of words with Arabic origins have entered English, such as albatross and Alcatraz from last week. Some others are kismet, lacquer, and magazine. Hence, my frequent correction of well-meaning people who tell me, “Latin is the root of all languages.” Sometimes I bite my tongue.