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-hom. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
-hom, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
-hom in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
-hom you have here. The definition of the word
-hom will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
-hom, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Maltese
Etymology
From Arabic هُم (hum).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɔm/ (generally)
- IPA(key): /ħɔm/ (after -h, -ħ, -għ)
- IPA(key): /jɔm/ (after -i, -ie)
- IPA(key): /wɔm/ (after -u)
Suffix
-hom
- 3rd-person plural pronominal suffix: their; them
- Synonym: tagħhom (only in possessive use)
- sħab (“friends”) + -hom → sħabhom (“their friends”)
- taħt (“under”) + -hom → taħthom (“under them”)
- jisma’ (“he hears”) + -hom → jismagħhom (“he hears them”)
Usage notes
- When the suffix -hom follows one of the diphthongs -aj, -ej, -aw, -ew, there are two possible pronunciations. The vowelised -h- may either be represented as a glide , , or it may lengthen the onset of the diphthong. Hence għajnejhom (“their eyes”) may be pronounced /ajˈnɛj.jɔm/ or /ajˈnɛː.jɔm/. The latter is more common.
- When the suffix is added to a verb in -a that disallows imala, the sequence -ahom is contracted to : attakka (“he attacked”), /atˈtak.ka/ → attakkahom (“he attacked them”), /at.takˈkɔːm/. There is, however, a fairly common nonstandard pronunciation that treats -ahom by analogy with -agħhom (as in jismagħhom above). This yields pronunciations such as /at.takˈkaħ.ħɔm/.