'arsenal' originates from Italian, specifically the word 'arsenale', where that Italian term came (via Medieval Latin and Venetian) from the Arabic phrase 'dār al-ṣināʿa' meaning 'house of manufacture'.

'arsenal' changed from the Arabic phrase 'dār al-ṣināʿa' into Medieval Italian 'arsenale' (through Venetian usage) and eventually became the modern English word 'arsenal'.

Initially, it meant 'a workshop or dock for building and storing ships and military supplies' but over time it evolved into its current meanings of 'a place for storing or producing weapons' and figuratively 'a large supply of resources or tools'.