page_title: Żejtun
section_title: Toponymy
hierarchical_section_title: Żejtun / Toponymy
caption_attribution_description: English: Zejtun farmlands
context_page_description: Żejtun is a city in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with a population of 11,218 at end 2016. Żejtun is traditionally known as Città Beland, a title conferred by the grandmaster of the Order of the Knights of Malta, Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim in 1797. Before that, the village was known as Casale Santa Caterina, named after its patron saint and parish titular.
  The old urban cores, called Bisqallin and Ħal Bisbut, largely retain their narrow medieval streets and ancient boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name Żejtun, or Casale Zeitoun, has referred to the settlement which developed around these two core villages. Together with a number of small hamlets in the vicinity, the bulk of the conurbation forms the city of Żejtun, administered by the mayor and the Żejtun Local Council. Over successive centuries, Żejtun lost a number of villages and hamlets that used to form part of its territory, which originally covered most of the south eastern part of Malta.
context_section_description: The etymology of Żejtun has been studied over the ages. It takes its name from the Sicilian Arabic for olive – zaytun (Arabic: الزيتون‎) – one of the ancient agronomic industries on Malta. This was confirmed by Ciantar, who stated that "...the town was very pleasant, due to the great quantity of olive groves, from whence it got and still retains the name Zeitun, which means olive; there is also the tradition that olive oil in abundant quantity used to be made here." While the Sicilian Arabic word zaytun refers to the fruit of the tree, the olive tree itself is called zabbūğ/zanbūğ. 
  The Arabic origin of the town's name was again recorded in the first Maltese language dictionary as "Żejtun, in the eastern part of the island of Malta, there is a large, rich and thriving town with this name, which incorporates another area called Bisqallin, and the village of Bisbut. In the Saracen era, there must have been olive groves here, for the area to retain its true name."
  In his commentary on Maltese history, Gio. Francesco Abela claimed that the eastern half of Malta, from the old city to the coast was often divided into two further halves. To the east, all the land was called Zeitun, while to the other side - that is, from Marsamxett to all the old territory of the Birkirkara parish - the land was called Araar.  Abela claims to have seen this notation in plans drawn by Girolamo Cassar, and that these two contrade were covered with the two respective trees.
  The name Żejtun was used to refer to the general south eastern region of Malta. In 1372, for example, King Frederick of Sicily granted fiefs in contrata de lu Zeituni, and again in 1373 in contrata de Lu Zayduni. The use of the name Żejtun for the urban core and town, as used today, does not go back further than the mid-seventeenth century. In population censuses taken by the Order, reference is always made to the parish or chapel of St Catherine. The name Żejtun begins to refer to the town, instead of a district or contrada, by the 1650s.
  Over the centuries, the region of Żejtun included a number of smaller settlements and villages. Casale Santa Caterina, Ħal Bisbut, Ħal Ġwann, and Bisqallin were used interchangeably to refer to both specific areas, or to the whole settlement. The name Bisqallin, which is the name of the lower part of the city, is traditionally linked with the arrival of Sicilian settlers, however this claim is contested by modern historians who link it with the diminutive form for Ħal Baskal or Baskal iż-Żgħir. Over time, the name was also corrupted into the Italian Casal Pasqualino.
  Żejtun shares its name with a number of settlements and areas in Greece, North Africa and the Near East. Today, Bisqallin (Biskallin) is known as ir-raħal t'isfel, the 'lower village', while Ħal Bisbut is referred to as ir-raħal ta' fuq, the 'upper village.' The historic motto of the city of Żejtun is Palladis clara munera, indicating the town's position on a hill gifted it with clear and commanding views over the south-eastern part of Malta. The motto according to the Żejtun local council is Frott iż-Żebbuġ ismi, meaning that the city derives its name from the fruit of the olive tree.
caption: Farmland in Żejtun.
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