kiesaħ

Probably from Arabic قاسِح‎ (qāsiḥ, “hard”), in closely related Tunisian Arabic also كاسح‎ (kāsiḥ). This adjective is used in Morocco in the collocation برد قاسح‎ (bard qāsiḥ, “severe cold”). The sense “cold” could also derive from “hard” → “frozen” → “cold”, but this may be less likely given the extreme rarity of frost in the Maltese islands (as of 2019 unrecorded with standard instruments, the official record low being 1.4 °C). Alternatively, the Maltese adjective might be from Arabic كاسِح‎ (kāsiḥ, “blustering”), referring to cold winter winds.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɪːsaħ/

kiesaħ (feminine singular kiesħa, plural kiesħa or kesħin)

1. cold

   Antonym: sħun

• biered
• diefi