3ayta عيطة
Algerian Darja · noun
“3ayta” (عيطة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning cry, scream.
Meanings
- cry, scream
- call (out loud)
- folk song, lament
Usage
3ayta is the verbal noun of the verb 3ayyet, "to shout, to call". It refers to a single cry, as in "3ayyet 3ayta wa7da", "she let out one cry". It can also refer to a call made to someone. More rarely, the word applies to a folk song sung at full voice, or to a lament. It is common in speech, in a colloquial register. For "to phone", the verb 3ayyet l- followed by the person is used, rather than the noun 3ayta.
Example
سمعت عيطة في الزنقة وخرجت نشوف.
sma3t 3ayta fe zenqa w khrejt nchouf.
“I heard a cry in the street and went out to see.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3ayta” but also “3aita”, “3iyta”, “3ita”, “aayta” and “3aytta”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “3ayta” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “shout, loud call”; “fuss, uproar”: 3ayta in Tunisian.