ħaf

Maltese

Root
ħ-w-f
1 term

Etymology

Perhaps from a metathesis of Arabic حَفِيَ (ḥafiya, to walk barefoot; to abrade one’s feet by lengthy walking). Joseph Aquilina mentions that ħafi (barefoot) was also used in the sense of “roamer”, thus preserving here the original participle form. There may have been a merger with حافَ (ḥāfa), يَحُوفُ (yaḥūfu, to visit, among other senses), or هافَ (hāfa), يَهِيفُ (yahīfu, to run away, of a slave), or some other phonetically related root.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ħaːf/

Verb

ħaf (imperfect jħuf)

  1. to roam, to wander, to shuffle along

Conjugation

    Conjugation of ħaf
singular plural
1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
perfect m ħoft ħoft ħaf ħofna ħoftu ħafu
f ħafet
imperfect m nħuf tħuf jħuf nħufu tħufu jħufu
f tħuf
imperative ħuf ħufu
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