كفتا
North Levantine Arabic
Etymology 1
Ultimately from Persian کوفته (kōfta).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkaf.ta/ [ˈkæfta]
Noun
كَفْتَا • (kafta) f
Alternative forms
- كفتة (MSA-influenced spelling)
Etymology 2
Contraction of كِيف (kīf) + تَا (ta), literally “how until”. For etymology 2 sense 2 (“why?”), compare the development of English how come.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkif.ta/ [ˈkefta]
Adverb
كِفْتَا • (kifta)
- how? (asks how something came or comes to pass)
- Near-synonym: كِيف (kīf)
- why?, how come?[1]
- Near-synonym: ليه (lē)
Usage notes
- Etymology 2 sense 1: See usage notes at كِيف (kīf, “how”) for an explanation of the difference.
References
- ^ أَنِيس خُورِي فْرَيْحَة [ʔanīs ḵūrī frayḥa, Anis Khuri Frayha, Anis Freiha] (1947), “كفتا”, in مُعْجَمُ الأَلْفَاظِ العَامِّيَّةِ فِي اللَّهْجَةِ اللُّبْنَانِيَّة [muʕjamu l-ʔalfāẓi l-ʕāmmiyya(ti) fī l-lahjati l-lubnāniyya, A dictionary of non-classical vocables in the spoken Arabic of Lebanon][1] (overall work in Arabic), American University of Beirut, →OCLC, page 154b: “كِفْتَا: اداة استفهام بمعنى لماذا? لايّ سببٍ وهي منحوتة من «كيف حتَّى». ― kifta: ʔadātu stifhāmin bimaʕnā limāḏā? liʔayyi sababin wahya manḥūtatun min «kīf ḥatta». ― kifta: interrogative particle meaning why?, for what reason, and it is univerbated from «kīf ḥatta» ['how until']”