xellug

Maltese

Etymology

Uncertain. Seemingly from Maghrebi Arabic شَلُوق (šalūq, “southeastern wind, scirocco”), whence also—perhaps through Romance influence—Maltese xlokk (“scirocco”). The Arabic word itself is said to be of Berber origin and this may explain the final -g (as there does not appear to be any case of Arabic q becoming g in Maltese). The sense “left” then from “east” as the left side when facing the sun at noon. Here the question poses itself whether there is any relation between شَلُوق (šalūq) and native Arabic شَرْق (šarq, “east”). Furthermore it must be noted that Arabic has شِمال (šimāl, “left”) from شَمال (šamāl, “north”), thus based on the position at sunrise rather than noon.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʃɛlˈluːk/

Noun

xellug m

left side, the left
Antonym: lemin

Derived terms

xellugi