għakkes

Etymology
The basic sense of the Maltese root is “being weak, feeble, deprived”, which is most readily derived from and its root; compare. Phonetically this is plausible since becomes Maltese g in several words, especially in the vicinity of sibilants (compare ). Word-finally the sequence is devoiced to  and this devoicing may have been generalised (equally a common phenomenon). On the other hand, the phonetically even closer also shows meanings that are connectable with the Maltese form, namely “to tie a camel's neck to its forelegs”, “to let it starve in this position”, “to press to the ground”, “to prevent, restrain”. Presumably, both roots influenced each other.

Verb

 * 1) to oppress; to subdue
 * 2) to restrain; to deprive