milgħaqa
Maltese
Etymology
From Arabic مِلْعَقة (milʿaqa). A more etymological spelling would be *milagħqa, because the underlying form is *milgħqa, where a was added before għ to remove the inadmissible consonant cluster (as similarly in mibegħda). The spelling milgħaqa implies an Arabic *مِلْعاقة (*milʿāqa). However, Maltese does not apply the etymological principle strictly and milgħaqa is closer to the native interpretation of the word.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mɪˈlaːʔa/
Noun
milgħaqa f (plural milgħaqiet)
- teaspoon; coffee spoon
Synonyms
- kuċċarina (commoner)
See also
- mgħarfa