On the origin of the words "taraux" and "tarocchi", Depaulis ventured an opinion in
Le Tarot Révelé, 2013, pp. 42-43. For the benefit of those who have not availed themselves of this excellent little book, here is the French, followed by an English translation.Suggestions on how to improve the translation are welcome.
Un soupçon d'étymologie
L'étymologie du mot tarot a excité l'imagination de nombreux auteurs, tant italiens (les premiers, dès le XVI' siècle) que français. Une origine grecque a longtemps eu la faveur des humanistes et érudits (Andrea Alciato, Agnolo Monosino, L.A. Muratori, Pasqualino père et fils), qui y ont vu successivement hetarôkoi (sic pour hetairikoi « compagnonniques ») tarikhos « condiment épicé » (car le jeu est piquant...), tarros (forme de tarsos) « rangée des doigts », parce qu'on... range ses cartes les unes à côté des autres, etc. En I 704, le jésuite français Claude-François Ménestrier penchait lui aussi pour le grec, suggérant un dérivé de teirein « user, percer à force de frotter » (à cause des dos imprimés de petits motifs répétés, comme une grille). En 1759, l'évêque Giuseppe Vinci, pourtant protopape des Grecs de Messine, auteur d'un Etymologicum siculum (1759), suggérait de faire venir tarocco de l'hébreu. tora, « significante figura ». Avec la mode de l'égyptomanie à la fin du XVIIIe siècle, les explications par l'égyptien antique (qui restait, pourtant, inconnu!) deviennent à la mode. Antoine Court de Gébelin voit dans tarot «deux mots orientaux Tar et Rho, Rho qui signifie chemin royal » (Monde primitif VI, 1778), précisant même un peu plus tard (Monde primitif, VIII, 1781) que c'est «pur égyptien», une affirmation péremptoire qui fait sourire aujourd'hui.
Alors que le XIX siècle continue de chercher son chemin, le XXe se tourne vers l'arabe. Ici aussi les propositions fantaisistes côtoient des approches plus sérieuses. Oublions les rapprochements avec l'arabe torcha «jeter, lancer», ou taraq (racine trq) « frapper » (et, paraît-il aussi, « prophétiser »), pour suivre plutôt le fil de tarh; «déduction» (même verbe taraha mais au sens de «rejeter; déduire»), qui est à l'origine des mots tare (poids du contenant déduit du total, puis défaut), tarer (peser le contenant vide, former un défaut). taré (qui a un défaut) — et autant en italien: tara, tarare, taratura, etc. C'est à cette filiation que l'orientaliste allemand Karl Lokotsch a proposé le premier de rattacher l'italien tarocco — source du français tarot. Il a été suivi par le grand philologue suisse Walther von Wartburg, auteur d'un monumental dictionnaire étymologique du français. Celui-ci explique en effet que le jeu de tarot suppose une sorte de déduction, « parce que dans ce jeu le joueur doit, dans certaines circonstances, mettre de côté une carte » (Franzosisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, XIX: Orientalia, 1967, p. 182-3, tarhe (ar.) 'abzug', et O. Bloch et W. von Wartburg, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 5e édition, Paris, 1968, TAROT).
Or ce n'est pas dans certaines circonstances que l'on met «de côté » une carte, c'est en toutes circonstances. Un des premiers gestes du jeu consiste en effet à faire un écart que le donneur prend pour lui dans les formes anciennes, ou qui reste sur la table et sera remporté par le meilleur enchérisseur dans les règles modernes. Voilà qui justifierait cette étymologie, qui ne fait pas l'unanimité mais a pour elle de sérieux atouts.
Il est cependant un point qu'ignorent tous les linguistes, c'est que tarot/tarocco n'est pas le nom originel du tarot: pendant tout le XV" siècle, celui-ci est appelé trionfi (voir chapitre 2). Le nom du jeu a changé: après 1500, tarocchi (singulier tarocco) se substitue, en quelques décennies, au vocable trionfi. Les raisons de ce changement ne sont pas claires mais celui-ci pourrait être dû à une modification significative des règles ou de la conduite du jeu. Nous savons trop peu de la façon de jouer au XVe siècle, mais un des rares points assurés est qu'on jouait à quatre, ce qui laissait deux cartes en trop après la donne. Or; après 1500, on joue aussi à trois, mais avec un «écart» de trois cartes, que rien n'obligeait à faire (puisque 78 est divisible par trois). Cette innovation aurait entraîné un changement de nom pour le jeu, ainsi devenu tarocco. Une sorte de «déduction». Reconnaissons qu'aucun élément ancien ne vient appuyer cette théorie qui reste, pour le moment, la meilleure hypothèse ou la moins aventureuse.
A suspicion of etymology
The etymology of the word tarot has excited the imagination of many authors, both Italian (the first, as early as the sixteenth century) and French. A Greek origin has long been favored by humanists and scholars (Andrea Alciato, Agnolo Monosino, L. A. Muratori, Pasqualino father and son), who have successively seen hetarôkoi (sic for hetairikoi, "companions"), tarikhos "spicy condiment" ("for the game is piquant”), taros (form of tarsos ) “row of fingers” because we put our cards next to each other, and so on. In the year 1704, the French Jesuit Claude-François Ménestrier also leaned toward Greek, suggesting a derivative of teirein "use, pierce, by dint of rubbing" (because of the backs printed with small repetitive patterns, like a grid). In 1759, Bishop Giuseppe Vinci, who was a protopope [?] of the Greeks of Messina, the author of an Etymologicum siculum [1759], suggested that tarocco should come from the Hebrew tora, "significant figure". With the Egyptian fashion at the end of the eighteenth century, explanations by the ancient Egyptian (which remained, however, unknown!) become fashionable. Antoine Court de Gébelin sees in tarot "two Eastern words Tar and Rho, Rho meaning royal road" (Monde Primitif VI, 1778), even specifying a little later Monde Primitif, VIII, 1781) that it is "pure Egyptian", a peremptory affirmation that makes us smile today.
As the 19th century continues to seek its way, the 20th century turns to Arabic. Here, too, fanciful propositions coincide with more serious approaches. Forget about reconciliations with Arabic torcha "to throw," or taraq (root trq, also "to prophesy"), rather to follow the thread of tarh, "deduction" {the same verb taraha but in the sense of "reject, deduct"), which is at the origin of the words tare (weight of the container deducted from the total, then defect), tarer (weigh the empty container, form a defect). taré (which has a defect) - and as much in Italian: tara, tarare, taratura, etc. It is to this lineage that the German Orientalist Karl Lokotsch proposed first to link the Italian tarocco - source of the French tarot . He was followed by the great Swiss philologist Walther von Wartburg, author of a monumental etymological dictionary of French. The latter explains that the game of tarot assumes a kind of deduction, “because in this game the player must, under certain circumstances, set aside a card" (Franzosisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, XIX Orientalia, 1967, p 182-3, tarhe (ar.) 'Abzug', and O. Bloch and W. von Wartburg, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 5th edition, Paris, 1968, TAROT).
But it is not in certain circumstances that a card is set aside, it is in all circumstances. One of the first gestures of the game is to make a discard that the dealer takes for himself in the old forms, or that remains on the table and will be won by the highest bidder in modern rules. This would justify this etymology, which is not unanimous but has for it serious advantages.
There is, however, one point which all the linguists are ignorant of: that tarot/tarocco is not the original name for the tarot: during the whole of the fifteenth century it is called trionfi (see chaper 2). The name of the game changed: after 1500 tarocchi (singular tarocco ) replaces, in a few decades, the word trionfi. The reasons for this change are unclear, but this could be due to a significant change in the rules or conduct of the game. We know too little about how it was played in the fifteenth century, but one of the rare points is that it is played by four, which left two extra cards after the deal; but after 1500 it is played by three, but with a "discard" of three cards. (Since 78 is divisible by three). This innovation would have resulted in a change of name for the game, thus become tarocco A kind of "deduction." We recognize that no old element has appeared to supports this theory, but it remains, for the moment, the best or least adventurous hypothesis.
I am not sure what Depaulis's reasoning is for the rule-change at just that time. Dummett suggested it as a conjecture, but not as a fact, that it happened at just the right time and place, Ferrara beginning of the 16th century). I posted the passage at the top of this page (
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=502&start=20#p7182). The discard rule would have started in the game of Scartino, a game documented in relation to Beatrice d'Este in 1496; the term means "discard". If the particular rule about the dealer discarding existed in Scartino and passed over to the game of triumphs, then, yes, the dates for Scartino's popularity (documented until 1517) suggest a name change such as Depaulis suggests, since these are the "rejected" cards. I think Huck suggested that scartino might have been brought from Naples by a d'Este girl (Beatrice) in temporary residence there.
The "-cco" would have been part of the word in Italian, which unlike French pronounces final consonants, because in Arabic the word "tarah", ends in a sound like the German "ch" in "Bach".
What Depaulis is saying (in 2013) is strikingly like what I said myself (in 2010, top of this page), as pure hypothesis, applying Dummett to the problem.
There is also the work of Andrea Vitali on the origin of the word in his essays (different at least on its face from the quote given by Alain):
http://www.associazioneletarot.it/page. ... 20&lng=ENG and the articles by him linked to at the beginning of that article, about the "therocco" wind, the follower of Bacchus allegedly named "Tharochus", and the verb "taroccare".
What links the examples found by Vitali together with Depaulis, it seems to me, is the Greek Ταραχος, i.e. "Tarachos", meaning "perturbatio", according to the 1497 Aldus
Greek-Latin Lexicon (relevant page furnished me by the Ransom Center at the University of Texas,
http://www.associazioneletarot.it/cgi-b ... achdet.jpg), which in turn means in English "agitation, confusion". It went into Arabic with the meaning of "deduction, rejection", to which the Romance languages added "defect", or "defective". The original "tarachos" also appeared in Turkish as "taraka", tumult. In Italian the word is at the root of the "therocco" wind, later "sirocco", as Andrea shows, the wind that makes people crazy. Independently of the game, "taroccare" in Italian does, or did, mean "to shout, or become angry" etc., as is evident from an old Italian dictionary quoted by Andrea. There may also be a connection to "Tharopes", in Pogio's translation of Diodorus Siculus, said there to be the name of the man to whom Bacchus gave his noisy ecstatic rites. See my page at
http://www.associazioneletarot.it/page.aspx?id=317. As to whether "tarocco" is derived from the Arabic "tararkh" or the Greek "tarachos" and the Italian "therocco", it seems to me rather adventurous to suppose that the "occo" at the end of the Italian comes from an Arabic pronunciation of "tarah"; perhaps there is another explanation.
Ross's (and Steve's) idea that the term comes from "taroc" meaning "stump, block, trunk of a tree" seems the least "adventurous"; the only assumption is that the word was in use in Piedmont of the 1490s; since it is documented in 1520, presumably it was. It would be of interest to know the derivation of that word. It involves neither the addition of a hard c at the end nor a change from "a" to "o" before that.