xifa
Maltese
Etymology
From Arabic شِيف (šīf, “prickles on the stems and branches of palm-trees”). The biological uses by analogy with the form of the beak and shell respectively.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʃiː.fa/
Noun
xifa f (plural xifiet)
- shoemaker's awl (tool)
- pied avocet (a bird, Recurvirostra avosetta)
- Synonym: avosett
- tusk shell, especially of the genus Dentalium
- Synonym: xifa tal-baħar
See also
- timplor