bodbod

Maltese

Root
b-d-b-d
2 terms

Etymology

Perhaps from a dialectal Arabic word for “stout, corpulent”. Compare Tunisian Arabic مبطبط (mbaṭbaṭ, “fat, fatso”). In line with this, Vassalli gives the form botbot (plural btabet). The similarity with Portuguese bode (“billygoat”) is suggestive, but the word seems to be restricted to the western half of Iberia and its origin is also unknown.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbɔd.bɔt/
  • Rhymes: -ɔdbɔt

Noun

bodbod m (plural bdabad)

  1. billygoat
    Synonym: għens (less common)
  2. (figurative, of people) ill-mannered

See also

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