jiġifieri
Maltese edit
Etymology edit
Probably from a contraction of jiġi affari ta’ (literally “it comes [to] a bargain of”), a phrase said by Joseph Aquilina to mean “it amounts to [a price]”. Or, according to Martin Zammit, from a contraction of jiġi fir-raj (literally “̳it comes to the mind”).[1]
Pronunciation edit
Adverb edit
jiġifieri
- that is; that means
References edit
- ^ 2022, Martin R. Zammit, “A Nineteenth Century Maltese Document in Arabic Script: Linguistic Observations”, in George Grigore, editor, ROMANO-ARABICA XXI The Outsiders’ Arabic: From Peripheral to Diaspora Varieties, Bucharest: Bucharest Unversity Press, →ISSN, page 142:
- In the 16th footnote: “The noun raj is the nominal element in jiġifieri 'that is to say', i.e. jiġi fir-raj, i.e. 'it comes to the mind'”.