ħaf

Maltese

Root
ħ-w-f (roaming)
2 terms

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