ittra

Maltese

Alternative forms

• littra (archaic)

Etymology

Borrowed from Sicilian littra, from Latin littera. The initial l- was interpreted as the definite article (Maltese l- and/or Sicilian l’) and hence deleted. Compare the opposite development in ilma, lemin, etc.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪt.tra/
• Rhymes: -ɪttra

Noun

ittra f (plural ittri)

1. letter (of the alphabet)

   ittra majjuskla; ittra kbira; ittra kapitali ― capital letter

   L-ittra Y ma tintużax fil-Malti. ― The letter Y is not used in Maltese.

   • 1949-1952, Anton Buttigieg, “L-Istorja tal-Ħajja”, in Qasba mar-Riħ, published 1977:

     L-Istorja tal-ħajja
     jiktibha s-sħab kull jum
     fuq wiċċ l-għadajjar
     bl-ittri tad-dawl u d-dell...

     The story of life
     is written by the clouds each day
     on the face of the ponds
     with letters of light and shadow.

   • 2018, Antoinette Borg, chapter 13, in Amina, Merlin Publishers, →ISBN:

     […] Eħxen u itqal milli ħsibtu. Niftħu u fuq l-ewwel paġna hemm stampat, b’ittri kbar: Fittixni, Jack Micallef. Inqalleb ftit il-paġni ta’ ġewwa u, b’sens ta’ delużjoni, ninduna li hu speċi ta’ manuskritt ta’ xi ktieb. Kliem u stejjer! Jaqq!

     […] Thicker and heavier than I thought. I open it, and on the first page, printed in large letters, it says: Find Me, Jack Micallef. I flip through a few pages and feel a wave of disappointment when I realize it's some kind of manuscript for a book. Words and stories! Ugh!

2. letter (written message)

   kaxxa tal-ittra ― letterbox

   Ktibtilha ittra, imma ma weġbitx għaliha.

   I wrote her a letter, but she didn’t answer it.

   • 1973, Anton Buttigieg, “Il-Ballata tal-Assedju ta' Għawdex”, in Ballati Maltin:

     Tliet mitt ruħ Siman ġa tilef,
     għalhekk beda jaqta’ l-jies;
     dik l-ittra kompliet ġagħlitu
     biex tirtira jordna n-nies.

     Sinan had lost three hundred men,
     so he began to lose hope;
     the letter pushed him
     to order retreat.

   • 2018, Antoinette Borg, chapter 2, in Amina, Merlin Publishers, →ISBN:

     Kollox beda b’dik l-ittra twila u mimlija kliem bombastiku. Kliem, kliem u aktar kliem. Kienet waslet xi 7 xhur qabel, fil-bidu tas-sajf.

     Everything began with that long letter full of bombastic words. Words, words, and more words. It had arrived about seven months earlier, at the start of summer.

3. academic title
4. (Christianity) epistle (one of the books of the New Testament which was originally a letter issued by an apostle)

Derived terms

• ittre (“electroning mail”)