għonnella
Maltese
Etymology
From older Sicilian *gunnella (now gunnedda) and/or Italian gonnella, from a diminutive of Latin gonna, whence also English gown. The replacement of /ɡ/ with /ɣ/ is unusual even in early borrowings. At any rate it requires that the borrowing occurred before the beginning of the merger of /ɣ/ with /ʕ/, thus earlier than 1700.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔnˈnɛl.la/
- IPA(key): /ɔˤːnˈnɛl.la/ (archaic)
- IPA(key): /ɣɔnˈnɛl.la/ (archaic, rural)
Noun
għonnella f (plural għenienel)
- (historical, folklore) kind of head covering worn by Maltese women (generally until the 19th c. and occasionally still in the earlier 20th c.), most typically in the form of a long shawl with a stiff hem, creating a wide hood over the wearer’s head
- Synonym: faldetta
- (obsolete) women’s overgarment more generally