fergħun

Maltese
FWOTD – 21 February 2022
Root
f-r-għ-n
4 terms

Etymology

From Arabic فِرْعَوْن‎ (firʕawn, “pharaoh”). The tyranny of the pharaohs, especially with regard to Moses, is very much stressed in the Quran and has become proverbial in Arabic.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /fɛˈrɔwn/, /fɛˈrawn/
  • IPA(key): /fɛˈrəˤwn/ (archaic)

Noun

fergħun m (plural friegħen, diminutive frejgħen)

  1. an evil or unscrupulous person
  2. a devil
    • 2014, Marlene Mifsud Chircop, “Ix-xitan fil-folklor Malti”, in L-Imnara: Folklor minn Malta, volume 10, number 3, BDL Publishing, →ISSN, page 31:
      Fil-folklor tagħna x-xitan għandu diversi appellattivi jew karatteristiċi (A.F. Attard 2002): […] il-fergħun, […]
      In our folklore, the devil has many names and characteristics (A.F. Attard 2002): […] the devil, […]
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