iżda

Maltese

Etymology

Uncertain. Perhaps from Arabic أَصْدَق (ʔaṣdaq, “more truthfully”, in the sense of “rather, more properly”). As the emphatic -ṣ- could have been assimilated to the -d- and/or dissimilated against the -q-, the form is entirely regular but for the loss of the final consonant. This loss in turn seems plausible in such a frequently used word (and perhaps also by analogy with the synonymous imma).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪz.da/

Conjunction

iżda

1. but

   Synonyms: imma, (colloquial) però

   • 2008, Trevor Żahra, Il-Ġenn li Jżommni f’Sikti, Merlin Publishers, →ISBN:

     Għax meta missieri kien jibni xi gallinar, jew xi xatba, jew xi kannizzata, qatt ma kien jixtri xejn, iżda jlaqqat u jillapazza b’dak li jsib. Imma jiena ma ridtx għarix mibni bl-imbarazz, iżda kamp sabiħ u pulit u b’saħħtu.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1970, Anton Buttigieg, “It-Tallab”, in Fl-Arena:

     Wara l-bibien,
     fit-tul tat-toroq twal,
     batejt
     il-għeja
     il-qtigħ ta’ qalb,
     batejt fuq kollox il-mistħija;
     iżda ġarrabt ukoll
     il-ferħ u l-għaxqa
     li kull tallab iħoss
     x’ħin jasal wisq għajjien bil-ħorġa f’idu
     bil-ħobż għand ommu mġewħa.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)