qala'

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Maltese

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Root
q-l-għ
3 terms

From Arabic قَلَعَ (qalaʕa, to pull out, rip off, uproot). The sense “to vomit” perhaps reinforced by the fact that the verb (with its initial uvular and final pharyngeal) would have been somewhat onomatopoeic of retching; compare unrelated but phonetically similar Arabic قاءَ (qāʔa, to vomit).

Verb

qala’ (imperfect jaqla’, past participle maqlugħ, verbal noun qligħ)

  1. (transitive) to pull out; to extract
  2. (transitive) to earn (money)
  3. (intransitive) to vomit
Conjugation
Conjugation of qala’
singular plural
1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
perfect m qlajt qlajt qala’ qlajna qlajtu qalgħu
f qalgħet
imperfect m naqla’ taqla’ jaqla’ naqilgħu taqilgħu jaqilgħu
f taqla’
imperative aqla’ aqilgħu

Etymology 2

From Arabic قِلْع (qilʕ, sail). Feminised because of the final a-sound.

Noun

qala’ f (plural qlugħ)

  1. (dated) sail (of a ship)
Usage notes
  • The original plural qlugħ, reinterpreted as a singular, is now commoner.