banana

Borrowed from Italian banana, from Wolof banaana.


tin

Alternative form: tint


klin

From Arabic إِكْلِيل الْجَبَل (ʔiklīl al-jabal).

inh

إِكْلِيل الْجَبَل

Salvia rosmarinus
Salvia rosmarinus#Translingual

Rosmarinus officinalis
Rosmarinus officinalis#Translingual

rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus, syn. Rosmarinus officinalis)


rand

Laurus nobilis
Laurus nobilis#Translingual


ward

warda (singulative)
wardtajn (dual)
wardtejn (dual)
urad (plural)
uradi (plural)
urud (plural)
uradijiet (plural)
wardiet (paucal)

U waqt li nħares fuq ta’ qalbi x-xitla
tat-tifkiriet tinbet tifkira ġdida,
b’warda ta’ swied il-qalb fejn tilma demgħa
minn ħbub għajnejja.

1949, Anton Buttigieg, “Fuq Qabar Oħti”, in Fanali bil-Lejl:


simar

Juncus effusus
Juncus effusus#Translingual


ross

Etymology tree
Proto-Iranian *wrinǰišder.
Ancient Greek ὄρυζα (óruza)bor.
Arabic رُزّ (ruzz)
Maltese ross
From Arabic رُزّ (ruzz).

etymon

Il-Ħajja ma’ l-għarajjes
daret kollha daħkana;
għalihom ferħ biss kellha
u daqq u żfin u għana,
xita ta’ ross, xewqiet
f’għomor mimli għaxqiet;

1975, Anton Buttigieg, “Il-Ħajja u l-Għarajjes”, in L-Għanja tas-Sittin:


bordi

Cyperus papyrus
Cyperus papyrus#Translingual


qaqoċċ

qaqoċċa (singulative)
qaqoċċiet (paucal)

Borrowed from Sicilian *cacoccia, older variant of cacòcciula, which see. Ultimately from Arabic خَرْشُوف (ḵaršūf).

der

Arabic خَرْشُوف (ḵaršūf)


lampun

lampuna (singulative)
lampuni (plural)
lampunijiet (paucal)


kannella

From Italian cannella or a Sicilian equivalent.


siġra

mt-noun

siġra f (plural siġar or sġar or sġur, paucal siġriet or siġrat, diminutive sġajra)

siġar (plural)
sġar (plural)
sġur (plural)
siġriet (paucal)
siġrat (paucal)
sġajra (diminutive)

From Arabic شَجَرَة (šajara) with dissimilation of š- against the following -j- (as in some Arabic dialects).

L-irrigazzjoni hija permessa matul il-perjodu veġetattiv tas-siġra.

Irrigation is permitted during the tree's growing period.

Ta’ ferħ u serħ imlietni, u bħall-għasafar
u l-friefet jien għamilt: minn fjur għal fjur
ħsiebi tar bħal farfett, taħt siġra kbira
qalbi fesdqet il-għana bħal għasfur.

1970, Anton Buttigieg, “Fil-Ġnien”, in Fl-Arena:


frawla

frawla f (plural frawli, paucal frawliet)


tuffieħ

tuffieħa (singulative)
tuffiħat (paucal)
tuffiħiet (paucal)

apple, apples (several fruits; apple as a mass, taste, species)


larinġ

larinġa (singulative)
larinġiet (paucal)

Probably inherited from Arabic نارَنْج (nāranj, “bitter orange”), from Persian نارنگ (nârang). The -i- seems to be the result of imala and does not appear in any of the relevant Romance cognates. Since bitter oranges were cultivated in Sicily since the Arab reign, inheritance is also historically likely. The initial l- may be due to influence by Sicilian l’arancia, though it could be explained as dissimilation.


frott

Borrowed from Sicilian fruttu or Italian frutto, from Latin fructus.

U qal Alla: “Ħa tnibbet l-art il-ħaxix, ħaxix li jagħmel iż-żerriegħa, siġar li jagħmlu l-frott biż-żerriegħa ġo fih skont għamliethom, fuq l-art.” U hekk sar.

c. 2015, Il-Bibbja : il-Kotba Mqaddsa, 5th edition, Valletta: Ghaqda Biblika Maltija, →OCLC, Il-Ktieb tal-Ġenesi 1:11:

New International Version translation: Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.


lanġas

lanġasa (singulative)
lanġasiet (paucal)

From a nasalised variant of Arabic الإجّاص (al-ʔijjāṣ), from إجّاص (ʔijjāṣ) with fused definite article اَل (al-). Compare Algerian Arabic لنجاص (lanjāṣ), Moroccan Arabic لنجاص (langāṣ) or نجاص (ngāṣ), and South Levantine Arabic إنجاص (injāṣ).


ċirasa

Borrowed from Sicilian cirasa, from Vulgar Latin ceresia.


rummien

rummiena (singulative)
rumminiet (paucal)

pomegranate, pomegranates (several fruits; pomegranate as a mass, taste, species)


berquq

berquqa (singulative)
berquqiet (paucal)

From Arabic بَرْقُوق (barqūq), from Classical Syriac ܒܰܪܩܽܘܩܳܐ (barqūqā), from Ancient Greek πραικόκῐον (praikókion), from Latin praecox (“overripe”).


għargħar

From Arabic عَرْعار (ʕarʕār), variant of عَرْعَر (ʕarʕar, “juniper”).


xitla

mt-noun

xitla f (plural xtieli or xitel or xtiel or xtul or xtejjel, paucal xitliet, diminutive xtejla)

xtieli (plural)
xitel (plural)
xtiel (plural)
xtul (plural)
xtejjel (plural)
xitliet (paucal)
xtejla (diminutive)

U tela’ għas-sur, wisq imgħaddab,
u kaxkar kull xitla, kull żrara,
u l-bejta dlonk ħataf, ġarr miegħu
bl-għasafar, jaħasra xi ħsara!

1949, Anton Buttigieg, “Il-Bejta fis-Sur”, in Mill-Gallerija ta’ Żgħożiti:


tamar

tamra (singulative)
itmra (plural)
tmar (plural)
tamriet (paucal)


fjur

fjura (singulative)
fjuri (plural)
fjuriet (paucal)

Borrowed from Sicilian ciuri (once fiuri), from Latin flōs. The singular in -a and the collective are backformations from the plural.

flower, blossom (reproductive structure on plants)


qamħ

qamħa (singulative)
qamħtejn (dual)
qmuħ (plural)
qmieħ (plural)
qamħiet (paucal)


tadam

Clipping of tuffieħa t’Adam (literally “Adam’s apple”), referring to the fruit of the forbidden tree in paradise. Compare the same in archaic German Paradiesapfel (literally “paradise apple”), whence Austrian German Paradeiser (“tomato”) and equivalent forms in several eastern European languages. The phonetic similarity with English tomato, Spanish tomate is probably coincidental. The Maltese might of course be a folk-etymological alteration of the Spanish word, but the clearly unrelated forms in other languages make this seem less likely. Compare also Italian pomodoro (literally “gold apple”), archaic English love apple.

cog

tomato, tomatoes (several fruits; tomato as a mass, taste, species)


ġummar

ġummara (singulative)
ġummariet (paucal)


nagħniegħ

From Arabic نَعْناع (naʕnāʕ), from Hurrian.


ħawħ

peach, peaches (several fruits; peach as a mass, taste, species)


fażola

fażola (singulative)
fażoli (plural)
fażoliet (paucal)

Borrowed from Sicilian fasola, from Latin phaseolus, from Ancient Greek φάσηλος (phásēlos).


qronfol

qronfla (singulative)
qronfliet (paucal)

From Arabic قَرَنْفُل (qaranful). Compare Sicilian Garòfalu.

Syzygium aromaticum
Syzygium aromaticum#Translingual

Dianthus caryophyllus
Dianthus caryophyllus#Translingual


ħenna

From Arabic حِنّاء (ḥinnāʔ). Probably not inherited, but borrowed through English henna, Italian henna.


dulliegħ

dulliegħa (singulative)
dlielagħ (plural)
dulligħat (paucal)

watermelon (as a mass or species); several watermelons


kurrat

kurrata (singulative)
kurratiet (paucal)


akaċja tax-xewk żgħir

LL-Q9166 (mlt)-GħawdxiVeru-akaċja tax-xewk żgħir.wav


biżbula tal-ilma

Alisma plantago-aquatica
Alisma plantago-aquatica#Translingual

common water plantain (Alisma plantago-aquatica)


lewż

almond, almonds (several nuts; almond as a mass or species)


ġewż

ġewża (singulative)
ġewżtejn (dual)
ġwież (plural)
ġewżiet (paucal)

walnuts (several nuts; walnut as a mass or species)


ħafur

inh

Arabic خَافُور (ḵāfūr)


sabbara

mt-noun

sabbara f (plural sabbariet or sabbarat)


qarabagħli

qarabagħlija (singulative)
qarabagħliet (paucal)

Univerbation of qara’ (“squash, pumpkin”) + bagħli (“unirrigated”).

univerbation

marrow, courgette/zucchini (kind of vegetable)


sfarġel

sfarġla (singulative)
sfarġliet (paucal)


ħarrub

ħarruba (singulative)
ħarrubiet (paucal)

Ceratonia siliqua
Ceratonia siliqua#Translingual

carob (fruit and tree of Ceratonia siliqua L.)


brunġiel

brunġiela (singulative)
brunġiliet (paucal)

Etymology tree
Proto-Dravidian *waẓVtVder.
Sanskrit वातिङ्गण (vātiṅgaṇa)bor.
Classical Persian بَاذِنْگَان (bāzingān)bor.
Arabic بَاذِنْجَان (bāḏinjān)
Maltese brunġiel
From Arabic بَاذِنْجَان (bāḏinjān). The word shows a great variety of phonetic alterations among Arabic dialects. The same form as in Maltese appears to underly in Portuguese beringela.

inh

Arabic بَاذِنْجَان (bāḏinjān)


bqajla

From Arabic, from the root ب ق ل (b-q-l). Related to بَقْل (baql, “vegetables, green plants, herbs”). Compare Moroccan Arabic بقولة (baqqūla, “spinach”), Andalusian Arabic رييس البقول (rayīs el-buqūl, “spinach”).


budebbus

budebbusa (singulative)
budebbusiet (paucal)

bu + debbus. Compare Tunisian Arabic بودبّوس (“broomrape”)


saġġar

mt-verb

saġġar (imperfect jsaġġar, past participle msaġġar)

jsaġġar (imperfect)
msaġġar (participle past)
saġġart (first-person masculine perfect singular)
saġġart (masculine perfect second-person singular)
saġġar (masculine perfect singular third-person)
saġġarna (first-person masculine perfect plural)
saġġartu (masculine perfect plural second-person)
saġġru (masculine perfect plural third-person)
saġġart (feminine first-person perfect singular)
saġġart (feminine perfect second-person singular)
saġġret (feminine perfect singular third-person)
saġġarna (feminine first-person perfect plural)
saġġartu (feminine perfect plural second-person)
saġġru (feminine perfect plural third-person)
nsaġġar (first-person imperfect masculine singular)
ssaġġar (imperfect masculine second-person singular)
jsaġġar (imperfect masculine singular third-person)
nsaġġru (first-person imperfect masculine plural)
ssaġġru (imperfect masculine plural second-person)
jsaġġru (imperfect masculine plural third-person)
nsaġġar (feminine first-person imperfect singular)
ssaġġar (feminine imperfect second-person singular)
ssaġġar (feminine imperfect singular third-person)
nsaġġru (feminine first-person imperfect plural)
ssaġġru (feminine imperfect plural second-person)
jsaġġru (feminine imperfect plural third-person)
saġġar (imperative second-person singular)
saġġru (imperative plural second-person)


bużbież

bużbieża (singulative)
bużbiżiet (paucal)


bużbież tar-roqba

bużbieża tar-roqba (singulative)
bużbiżiet tar-roqba (paucal)

Foeniculum vulgare
Foeniculum vulgare#Translingual


bużbież tal-ġidra

bużbieża tal-ġidra (singulative)
bużbiżiet tal-ġidra (paucal)


ġellewż

ġellewża (singulative)
ġellewżiet (paucal)

hazelnut, hazelnuts (several nuts; hazelnut as a mass or species)


bettieħ

bettieħa (singulative)
btietaħ (plural)
bettiħat (paucal)
bettiħiet (paucal)

From Arabic بِطِّيخ (biṭṭīḵ). The etymologically more justified (and prescriptively preferred) spelling bettiħ is very rare in practice since the word is treated as belonging to the common measure C-e-CC-ie-C. (The phonemes /iː/ and /ɪː/ are merged before /ħ/ and /ʔ/.)

inh

Arabic بِطِّيخ (biṭṭīḵ)


qastan

From Arabic قَسْطَن (qasṭan), a variant of كَسْتَنَاء (kastanāʔ), from Ancient Greek κάστανα (kástana).


sebuqa

Borrowed from Sicilian savucu, from Latin sambūcus.


karfus

karfusa (singulative)
krafes (plural)
karfusiet (paucal)

By back-formation from the plural krafes, from a variant of Arabic كَرَفْس (karafs) reinterpreted as a plural form. Compare Moroccan Arabic كرافس (krāfis, “celery”), Tunisian Arabic كرافس (krāfis, “celery”).


xnien

From Arabic أُشْنَان (ʔušnān), شِنَان (šinān).

inh

Arabic أُشْنَان (ʔušnān)


brinġiel

brinġiela (singulative)
brinġiliet (paucal)


ħafur kbir rari

sterile oat (Avena sterilis subsp. altherantha)


ħafur kbir ta' Ludovik

ħafur kbir ta’ Ludovik (canonical masculine)

winter wild-oat (Avena sterilis subsp. ludoviciana)


ħafur żgħir

slender wild oat (Avena barbata subsp. barbata)


sensiela

Pimpinella saxifraga
Pimpinella saxifraga#Translingual


pastard

pastarda (singulative)
pastardiet (paucal)


qaraboċċ

Sorghum bicolor
Sorghum bicolor#Translingual


difla

Nerium oleander
Nerium oleander#Translingual