The origin of this word comes from the Arabic root arafa, meaning ‘to know, to find out‘ (same root as Arafah/Arafat). The word was used in the Persian & later in the Ottoman empire to depict a ‘table of prices’. From there, the word was picked up by Latin speaking traders and was used in Italy and France, to denote a mandated price.
Which ‘unpopular’ word am I talking about?