ngħam
Maltese
Alternative forms
- nagħam (see usage notes)
Etymology
From Arabic نَعام (naʿām).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /naːm/
- IPA(key): /naˤːm/ (archaic)
Noun
ngħam m (collective, singulative ngħama, paucal ngħamiet)
- ostrich, ostriches
Usage notes
- There seems to be some confusion about the standard spelling of this word. The etymological form is ngħam, but nagħam (analogical to nagħaġ) is equally common. Adding to this, some sources unaccountably claim that the singulative and paucal should be spelt with nagħm-, but the collective should be ngħam.