mok7la مكحلة
Algerian Darja · noun
“mok7la” (مكحلة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning rifle, firearm.
Meanings
- rifle, firearm
- traditional fantasia musket
Usage
Mok7la is the usual word for a rifle, especially a hunting rifle or an old rifle. Its plural is mkahel. It is very present in the context of the fantasia and rural festivities, where volleys are fired into the air. It also recurs in popular poetry and song. In cities, fusil, borrowed from French, is often heard. The word refers to a long weapon: for a pistol, people usually say pistola or fard. Pronunciation varies by region: mok7la, mka7la.
Example
جدي كان عندو مكحلة قديمة
jeddi kan 3ando mok7la 9dima
“My grandfather had an old rifle.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mok7la” but also “mka7la”, “mokahla”, “mkahla” and “mokka7la”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “mok7la” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “traditional rifle (fantasia)”; “wearing kohl eyeliner (mke7la)”: mok7la in Moroccan.