għalqa

Maltese

Etymology

Reminiscent of Arabic حَقْل‎ (ḥaql, “field”), but the required phonetic development (voicing of the onset plus metathesis -ql- → -lq-) seems rather far-fetched. Hence probably from, or at least influenced by, a word from the Arabic roots ع ل ق‎ (ʿ-l-q) or غ ل ق‎ (ḡ-l-q); most plausibly perhaps عُلْقة‎ (ʿulqa, “sufficient amount of substinence, food, or pasture”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈaːlʔa/

Noun

għalqa f (plural għelieqi)

  1. field

See also
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