riefnu

Maltese

Etymology

Borrowed from Sicilian rèfulu, rùfulu (“a kind of coastal storm”). Compare Italian refolo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈrɪːf.nu/

Noun

riefnu m (plural rwiefen or rfejjen)

1. gale, storm, whirlwind

   Synonym: tempesta

   • 1949-1952, Anton Buttigieg, “Il-Ħolma tan-Natura”, in Qasba mar-Riħ, published 1977:

     U meta tiġi x-xitwa erħilha teqred
     bir-rxiex, bis-silġ, bil-bard, bir-riħ u rwiefen
     il-ħlejjaq qodma: weraq sfajra u morda,
     u rix mitbiela,

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)