giref
Maltese edit
Root |
---|
g-r-f |
1 term |
Etymology edit
Probably from Arabic جَرَفَ (jarafa, “to sweep away, scoop, shovel”). Compare gerriefa (“kind of hoe”) with Arabic جَرّافة (jarrāfa) and مِجْرَفة (mijrafa), both originally “rake, hoe, shovel”.
Alternatively it has been linked to قَرَفَ (qarafa, “to peel, decorticate”), but this is less likely; also because Maltese g- almost never goes back to Arabic ق (q). Finally one should note Old French grifer (“to scratch”), from Proto-Germanic *grīpaną, which (though clearly not the ultimate origin) might have influenced the sense and/or form.
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
giref (imperfect jigref, past participle migruf, verbal noun grif)
Conjugation edit
Conjugation of giref | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular | plural | |||||||
1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | |||
perfect | m | grift | grift | giref | grifna | griftu | girfu | |
f | girfet | |||||||
imperfect | m | nigref | tigref | jigref | nigirfu | tigirfu | jigirfu | |
f | tigref | |||||||
imperative | igref | igirfu |