ħatar

Maltese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈħatar/

Etymology 1

From Arabic اِخْتارَ (iḵtāra), an eighth stem from the root خ ي ر (ḵ-y-r). Reinterpreted in Maltese as a ninth stem from a root ħ-t-r (older Maltese ħtar), then reconstrued as a first stem.

Verb

ħatar (imperfect jaħtar, past participle maħtur)

1. to elect; to choose by vote
2. to select; to appoint; to choose for a task or position

Derived terms

• ħatra
• nħatar

Related terms

• aħjar

See also

• għażel

Etymology 2

From Arabic. Three roots are comparable and the Maltese is perhaps from a merger of all or some of them: 1.) حَظِر (ḥaẓir, “picket, cane for a fence”), حِظار (ḥiẓār, “fence, enclosure”); 2.) خِطْر (ḵiṭr, “branch of a tree”), خَطّار (ḵaṭṭār, “camel’s tail, pendulum, quivering spear”); 3.) حَدَرَ (ḥadara, “to be thick, swollen”).

Noun

1. stick; cane; rod; cudgel
   • (Exodus 4:4, King James Version)

     U l-Mulej qal lil Mosè: Midd idek, u aqbdu minn denbu – u medd idu u qabdu, u sar ħatar f’idu.

     And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand.