mqareb

Maltese

Root
q-r-b
9 terms

Alternative forms

imqareb (after a consonant, mostly also after a pause)

Etymology

According to Aquilina, from Arabic مُقَارِب (muqārib, “close to something”), as people that are naughty are generally annoying where to be so they would always be very close to you. Also possibly the active participle of a form III verb (*qareb) which no longer exists, if indeed it ever did, it probably means “to be troublesome”.^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /(ɪ)mˈʔaː.rɛp/

Adjective

mqareb (feminine singular mqarba, plural mqarbin or mqarba)

naughty; unruly

References

^ David R. Marshall (1973) “A comparative study of some semantic differences between Maltese and Koranic Arabic”, in Journal of Maltese Studies‎^[1], volume 9, University of Malta, page 31: “The Maltese word mqâreb is the active participle of a form III verb which no longer exists, if indeed it ever did, and it means 'troublesome'.”

[1] David R. Marshall (1973) “A comparative study of some semantic differences between Maltese and Koranic Arabic”, in Journal of Maltese Studies‎^[1], volume 9, University of Malta, page 31: “The Maltese word mqâreb is the active participle of a form III verb which no longer exists, if indeed it ever did, and it means 'troublesome'.”

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