sahd الصهد

Algerian Darja · noun

“sahd” (الصهد) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning intense heat, heatwave.

Meanings

1. intense heat, heatwave
2. stifling heat of a place
3. scorching heat, heatwave

Usage

Sahd refers to strong, oppressive heat, like that of summer days or a poorly ventilated room. You say kayen sahd (it's very hot) or sahd bezzaf (terrible heat). In the same field, skhana refers to heat or fever, and hmane to humid heat. Sahd is more expressive than skhana and suggests heat that crushes you. It is a common, informal word used everywhere in Algeria. Pitfall: it is not used for a hot drink or dish; for those you say skhoun.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sahd” but also “essahd”, “sahed”, “sehd” and “shed”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find الصهد and صهد, all the same word.

Type “sahd” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written صهد, where it means “intense heat, heatwave”; “heat given off (fire, oven)”: sehd in Moroccan.