Pillowcases, collisions and cash: the Maltese word that does it all

It’s a word that is on everyone’s lips right now, and no, it’s not traffic or the absolute chaos on the roads – we thankfully take a break from that in summer, when schools are out.

Rather, people are investing (investa) in anything they set their eyes on: a maisonette or arable land that can be turned into 10 apartments, a farmhouse that can be turned into a party venue, or the Sliema sea that can be reclaimed and turned into a lido.

Others are investing their money in EVs or their time in AI, and some politicians are reportedly investing their efforts in our children.

But in Maltese, investa has a colourful array of meanings other than to invest in, or to buy and acquire something.

It could be anything from a pillowcase to hit or run over something on someone.

Investieha mutur u ħallieha tal-kolp translates to “she was knocked down by a motorbike and died at the scene”, while Il-luzzu investa frejgatina means “the luzzu collided with a frejgatina” (both types of traditional boats).

It could also mean to endow someone with powers: “Il-parlament investa lir-reġina b’setgħat assoluti” (parliament invested the queen with absolute powers), and in some places, including in Gozo, it could also mean to let in a draught.

If you want to learn more about the word investa, check out the entry here, and if you think the researchers have missed out on a meaning, get in touch here.

Dizzjunarju.mt is a free, authoritative and up-to-date reference resource that has started taking shape and went live on June 19.

It is accessible on any mobile device. It is set to become the first national digital dictionary of Maltese and is currently being developed by the Department of Maltese at the University of Malta.

It builds on the work done in the sector over the past decades while remaining abreast of the current use of the language and will take years to compile.

Among others, its features include a pronunciation tab, definitions in Maltese and English equivalents, grammatical information such as which part of speech the word falls under, its plural, root (għerq) and etymology.

The site also provides information about the various meanings of a word, examples based on the natural use of the language, idioms and phrases.