olive; there is also the tradition that olive oil in abundant quantity used to be made here." While the Sicilian Arabic word refers to the fruit of the tree, the olive tree itself is called or . 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-17th century. In population censuses taken by the Order, reference is always made to the parish or chapel of St. Catherine. The name Żejtun began 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