ħeġġeġ

Maltese

FWOTD – 16 April 2017

Etymology

From Arabic هَجَّجَ (hajjaja, “to fan flames, to fire up”) with irregular fortition of h to ħ as also, for example, in ħarab. Compare related Maltese ħuġġieġa (“bonfire”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈħɛdːʒɛtʃ/

Verb

ħeġġeġ (imperfect jħeġġeġ, past participle imħeġġeġ)

1. urge, exhort, encourage

References

• Donna Borg (2012), "Lexical epistemic verbs in Maltese" in ILSIENNA: Our Language, Vol. 2