ἄρφα <Semitic?/Egyptian?; Early Byzantine period>
👉ἄρφα – a gloss with the meaning of ἀρραβών ‘earnest money, deposit, surety, guarantee’ (Hsch. α 7567). Cf. ἀρχά ‘id.’ (Hsch. α 7570).
🅔 Perhaps a Semitic or Egyptian word – Syriac ʿərāḇā ‘guarantee, surety’, Demotic ꜣrb ‘pledge’, Coptic ⲁⲣⲏⲃ (S, B, F, L, M), (ⲉ)ⲣⲏⲃ (S, B, F), ⲗⲏⲃ (F) ‘id.’; cf. Biblical Hebrew ʿērāḇôn ‘pledge, security’, Imperial Aramaic ʿrbn ‘id.’, Jewish Aramaic Eārəḇônā, Eārəḇôn ‘id.’, etc.; for more, see ἀρραβών. The consonant -χ- in the gloss ἀρχά is unclear. Cf. an old hypothesis that ἄρφα and ἀρχά come from *ἀρρα.
📖 Data: CAD: IV, 327; CD: 15; CDA: 80; CDD: s.v. ꜣrb; CDO: s.v. ⲁⲣⲏⲃ; DCH: VI, 553; DJBA: 880; DJPA: 418; DNWSI: 886; DUL: 179; HALOT: 881; KH: 11; SL: 1134; cf. DG: 7. Ref.: Rosół 2013: 23.