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I've read that several bits of Japanese come from contractions with `ある`:

  * `だ` comes from `で + ある` ([source](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%A0&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=111654000000))
  * `なる` comes from `に + ある` ([source](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/6070/1478))
  * `たり` comes from `て + あり` ([source](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&stype=0&dtype=0&dname=0ss&p=%E3%81%9F%E3%82%8A))
  * `たり` comes from `と + あり` ([source](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%9F%E3%82%8A&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=112302800000))
  * Adjective forms like `たのしかった` come from inflecting `たのしく + ある` ([source](http://homepage3.nifty.com/jgrammar/ja/adjec001.htm))

Because contraction with `ある` seems to have occurred quite a few times, I
started wondering if the suffix `〜がる` (as in `たがる` or `ほしがる`) was a
contraction of `が + ある`. I realize this is baseless speculation, but it
sounded plausible to me, so I tried to look it up to see if it was right.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything about the etymology of `がる` online,
and my dictionaries don't say anything on the subject either.

Is this possible? Is there a better explanation?
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2012-12-18T18:43:48.870
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etymology contractions
Where does the suffix 〜がる come from?
I do not know the origin of the suffix -がる, but I am afraid that your theory
is unlikely because the suffix -がる is attached to something different from
what a particle が is attached. For example, we say 痛がる, but 痛が is not
grammatical.
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2012-12-18T19:45:43.333
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[This
paper](https://web.archive.org/web/20150910152012/https://teapot.lib.ocha.ac.jp/ocha/bitstream/10083/50105/1/02_011-021.pdf)
briefly lists this as a source:

> 「がる」の語源にはいくつかの可能性があるようだが [...] 日本国語大辞典によると、
> 「アハレガル、ウレシガル、痛ガル、面白ガルのガルは情をそそられる意から、アガルの約。道心ガル、才子ガル、得意ガルのガルは、ゲ（気）アルの約〔大言海〕」などの紹介がある。

I do not have access to 日本国語大辞典, but it seems it does not support your がある
theory, rather suggests that it derives from あがる and/or 気{げ}ある.

* * *

**Update 2021-12-08:**

The 日本国語大辞典 is available (for now, at least) via Kotobank, and the relevant
entry is [here](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%81%8C%E3%82%8B-235261).
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I've always thought it was 気(げ)ある contracted. It makes sense in that one can't
really report on someone else's feelings but one could say "he/she has an air
of wanting/hurting/etc."
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