ngħam

Maltese

Alternative forms

• nagħam (see usage notes)

Etymology

From Arabic نَعام (naʕām).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naːm/
• IPA^(key): /naˤːm/ (archaic)

Noun

ngħam m (collective, singulative ngħama, paucal ngħamiet)

1. ostrich, ostriches

Usage notes

• There seems to be some confusion about the standard spelling of this word. The etymological form is ngħam, but nagħam (analogical to nagħaġ) is equally common. Adding to this, some sources unaccountably claim that the singulative and paucal should be spelt with nagħm-, but the collective should be ngħam.