iben

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See also: Iben

Maltese

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Etymology

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From Arabic اِبْن (ibn).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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iben m (construct state iben or bin, plural ulied)

  1. son
    Coordinate term: bint

Usage notes

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  • The singular of this word is predominantly used in the construct state, that is with a possessive suffix or a following noun. This is similar to the words ħu (brother) and oħt (sister), though with iben and bint this restriction is only a tendency, not a definite rule.
  • The plural ulied is gender-neutral and thus means “children” in the sense of “offspring of either sex”. In order to specify the masculine in the plural one says ulied subien (sons, literally children boys).

Inflection

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    Inflected forms
Personal-pronoun-
including forms
singular plural
m f
1st person ibni binna
2nd person ibnek binkom
3rd person ibnu binha binhom

Derived terms

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