zekzek

Maltese

Root
z-k-z-k

Etymology

Probably an alteration of żekżek (“to peep, chirp”), from Arabic زَقْزَقَ‎ (zaqzaqa). The change from [z] to the harsher [t͡s] perhaps onomatopoetic for muffled, aggressive speech.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈt͡sɛk.t͡sɛk/

Verb

zekzek (imperfect jzekzek, past participle mzekzek)

to gossip
In-nies biss izekzku fuqha, għaliex jgħiru għaliha.
People only gossip about her because they envy her.
to hiss
to twitter
to utter a number of repeated [t͡s]-sounds to express disapproval

Derived terms

zekziek
zekzieki
zekzik