Arlés

Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 1: A to Beaufort, p. 420

Arlés, a term used in Scotland and the north of England for a piece of earnest-money given in confirmation of a bargain or engagement, especially when a servant is hired. The ultimate origin of the word is the Latin arrha, 'earnest-money,' 'part of the price paid down.'

Source scan(s): p. 0439