farfett

Maltese

Farfett

Etymology

Probably inherited from dialectal Arabic; compare especially Tunisian Arabic فرططو/فرفطو (farṭaṭṭu/farfaṭṭu), Moroccan Arabic فرططو (farṭuṭṭu, “butterfly”), but also Moroccan Arabic فرطوط (farṭūṭ, “moth”) etc. Eventually from Berber; compare Kabyle aferṭeṭṭu. The second -f- might be due to influence by Italian farfalla, which is either unrelated or itself from the Arabic (see the entry).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /farˈfɛt/

Noun

farfett m (plural friefet)

1. butterfly

Derived terms

• farfett il-lejl

 

See also

• dudu tal-ħarir