Origin of the name
The term "arsenale", in use in modern Italian, comes from the Arabic Daras-sina'ah, meaning "house of industry". The term, known to the Venetians through their frequent commercial contacts with the Orient, would be passed to the Venetian "darzanà", later corrupted over time in the form "arzanà", also mentioned in Dante's Inferno, then, through "arzanàl" and "arsenal", the final form of "arsenale".
The term "darzanà" and then "darsena" has instead remained to indicate the Arsenale on inland waterways, and from such use is derived the current meaning of the term dock.
The term "darzanà" and then "darsena" has instead remained to indicate the Arsenale on inland waterways, and from such use is derived the current meaning of the term dock.
