għagħa

Maltese

Root
għ-għ-j
1 term

Etymology

From Arabic غَاغَة (ḡāḡa, “mob, crowd”). The word is an extreme example of how the loss/vowelisation of għ has weakened the phonetic shapes of many words in Maltese. One might think that għagħa would subsequently have come out of use, but it remains common.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈaː/
    • IPA(key): /ˈaˤː/ (archaic)
    • IPA(key): /ˈɣaː.ɣa/ (archaic, rustic)

Noun

għagħa m or f

  1. upheaval, tumult

Usage notes

  • Originally and still often feminine, but because of the now monosyllabic pronunciation it may also be construed as a masculine.

Verb

għagħa (imperfect jgħagħi)

  1. (obsolete) to breathe heavily

Conjugation

Conjugation of għagħa (Form III)
positive forms
singular plural
1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
perfect m għagħejt għagħejt għagħa għagħejna għagħejtu għagħew
f għagħiet
imperfect m ngħagħi tgħagħi jgħagħi ngħagħu tgħagħu jgħagħu
f tgħagħi
imperative għagħi għagħu
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