Is arisal a word? [closed]

Question

I'm trying to talk about the specific point at which something arose (came into being). I'd like to say, "...the arisal of x." But I can't find any evidence that this form of "arise" is a word. Is that the case?

Answer 1

The suffix -al is quite commonly used to form verbal nouns from especially disyllabic verbs that end in /s z/.¹ The OED has about a hundred or so words of this type, many rare or obsolete, of which the following is an excerpt of the more commonly used ones:

accusal
appraisal
arousal
carousal
dismissal
dispersal
disposal
espousal
excusal
opposal
proposal
recusal
rehearsal
reversal
transposal
traversal

It is, in other words, a very clear and transparent suffix with a relatively distinct function. It is very easy to recognise and parse. As your desire to use arisal shows, it is in fact so easy to recognise and parse that it can be considered a productive suffix, at least for disyllabic verbs ending in /s z/ (and perhaps /v/ as well).

The fact that arisal is not common and has not been included in any dictionaries means that it is not an established word. It is not a word that has been used by many people in different contexts.

That does not mean, however that it’s not a word. Dictionaries, after all, only document how people actually use language, and they can’t find or document everything. As Wayfaring Stranger’s answer shows, it has been used, though mainly in specialised technical literature—but more importantly, it is a completely transparent and obvious derivation from arise that is immediately parsable and understandable. No competent speaker of English would have any doubts as to what it means, and I rather fancy that a good many speakers would not even pause to think, “Is that even a word?” if they read it in a sentence where it was logically used.

In brief: if you want to use arisal, go right ahead. You won’t be confusing anyone. If you want to be completely sure that no one thinks you’re making up words or using ‘nonstandard’ words, though, you may want to use some other word that is more established, like rise, emergence, arrival (another -al noun from a verb in /v/), advent, birth, start, etc.

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¹ The suffix is (as far as I can tell) limited to disyllabic verbs that end in a stressed syllable (with or without any additional preverbs). Of these, it has an especially strong affinity with verbs that end in fricatives, especially /s z/, but also /v ð/, as in upheaval, arrival, bequeathal, betrothal. It does appear also with other consonants (rebuttal, beheadal, acquittal, referral), and even with vowels/glides (bestowal, denial), but much more sporadically.

Answer 2

After doing some quick research, I can give you this information. 'Arose' is the past-tense of 'arise', which has no noun. While 'arisal' may seem like a legitimate word, the closest word that is considered a legitimate word is 'rising', which would still sound very impressive if put in the title of a novel, e.g. "The Rising of Darkness" or "Evil Rising". In short, no, 'arisal' is not a word.

Answer 3

Looks like arisal gets used in specialized tech literature:

The production of a new organ in an animal body results from the arisal and continuance of a new need, and from the new movement which this need brings into being and sustains.

Google Scholar is rife with examples of arisal, despite the failure of most dictionaries to grant word-status.