‖ alcavala
(alkəˈvɑːlə)
[Sp. alcabala, alcavala, ad. Arab. al-qabālah the tax, duty, impost (Fr. gabelle), f. qabala to receive.]
(See quot.)
| 1776 Adam Smith W.N. (1869) II. v. ii. 498 The famous Alcavala of Spain..was at first a tax of ten per cent..upon the sale of every sort of property. 1846 Prescott Ferd. & Isab. III. xvi. 167 The alcavalas of the grandmasterships of the military orders. |