The Spanish verb 'arribar' (to arrive) comes from the Latin verb 'arripare' meaning 'to come ashore'. This Latin word was formed by combining two elements: the prefix 'ad-' meaning 'toward' and 'ripa' meaning 'bank or shore'. The prefix 'ad-' changed to 'ar-' through a common phonetic process called assimilation, where the 'd' sound became more similar to the following 'r' sound. So literally, the original meaning was about reaching or coming toward the shore, which later generalized to mean arriving at any destination.

A related Spanish word is 'arriba', meaning 'up' or 'above', which shares the same Latin prefix 'ad-' (toward). While 'arribar' focuses on reaching a destination, 'arriba' retained more of a spatial meaning related to upward direction. Another related word is 'ribera', meaning 'riverbank' or 'shore', which comes directly from the Latin 'ripa'.

While English 'arrive' might look similar to Spanish 'arribar', they are actually etymological cousins, both descending from the same Latin 'arripare'. The English word came through Old French 'ariver'. Another related English word is 'riparian', meaning 'relating to or situated on the banks of a river', which comes from the same Latin root 'ripa' (bank, shore).