Maltese

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Derived from Arabic دَعَبَ (daʕaba, to thrust, push”, and of wind or water “to be violent). The sense “abyss” then probably from the violent currents at the bottom of a steep coast, transferred to the coast itself.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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dagħbien m (plural dgħaben)

  1. whirlwind
  2. abyss, chasm, cleft