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, […]