arroba
an old unit of weight of about 11.5 kg (a quarter of a quintal); today, the @ signunidad de peso de unos 11,5 kg (la cuarta parte del quintal); hoy, el signo @
Comes from Arabic
الرُّبْع
ar-rubʿ
“the quarter”«la cuarta parte»
Arabic today says
رُبْع
rubʿ
And it still does
Root
ر ب ع
r-b-ʿ
The article
Spanish kept the Arabic article al- glued to the word.
The story
It was a quarter of a quintal, another Arabic word. Merchants abbreviated it with the @ sign, which in Arabic today is simply called "āt".Era la cuarta parte del quintal, otra palabra árabe. Los mercaderes la abreviaban con el signo @, que en árabe se llama hoy simplemente «āt».
In a sentence
Mi dirección de correo lleva una arroba.
My email address has an @ sign in it.
فِي عُنْوَانِ بَرِيدِي عَلَامَةُ آت.
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albarán
delivery note — a document confirming that goods were delivered · documento que acredita la entrega de una mercancía
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alcancía
piggy bank, money box · hucha, recipiente para guardar monedas
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quilate
carat — a unit of weight for gemstones; a measure of the purity of gold · unidad de peso de las piedras preciosas; medida de la pureza del oro
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