xifa
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Maltese[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Arabic شِيف (šīf, “prickles on the stems and branches of palm-trees”). The biological uses by analogy with the form of the beak and shell respectively.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
xifa f (plural xifiet)
- shoemaker's awl (tool)
- pied avocet (a bird, Recurvirostra avosetta)
- Synonym: avosett
- tusk shell, especially of the genus Dentalium
- Synonym: xifa tal-baħar