silġ
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Maltese
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Arabic ثَلْج (ṯalj). Maltese s- (instead of expected t-) may be due to irregular assimilation of [θ] to the following alveolar [l]. The subsequent dissimilation š- → s- under the influence of following -j- would be less surprising (compare e.g. siġra).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]silġ m (collective, singulative silġa, paucal silġiet)
- ice; hail
- c. 2015, Il-Bibbja : il-Kotba Mqaddsa, 5th edition, Valletta: Ghaqda Biblika Maltija, →OCLC, Il-Ktieb ta' Ġob 6:16:
- Li jkunu mqallgħin bil-ħalla tas-silġ, xħin togħdos fihom il-borra.
- New International Version translation: when darkened by thawing ice and swollen with melting snow,
- snow
- Synonym: borra
- 1949-1952, Anton Buttigieg, “Il-Ħolma tan-Natura”, in Qasba mar-Riħ, published 1977:
- U meta tiġi x-xitwa erħilha teqred
bir-rxiex, bis-silġ, bil-bard, bir-riħ u rwiefen
il-ħlejjaq qodma: weraq sfajra u morda,
u rix mitbiela,- (please add an English translation of this quotation)