3dess عدس
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3dess” (عدس) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning lentils (legume).
Meanings
- lentils (legume)
- lentil dish
Usage
The word 3ds means lentils as food. It is almost always used with the article: l3ds. It is also the name of the lentil stew, very common in Moroccan home cooking, often served on Fridays or on ordinary days. The word is collective and has no plural. Note: the English gloss "lenses" is a mistake. Optical or contact lenses are usually called lentiy, borrowed from French. You say tiyeb l3ds, "to cook lentils".
Example
اليوم طيبت العدس
lyoum tiyebt l3ds
“Today I cooked lentils.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3dess” but also “3ds”. 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 “3dess” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “lentils (legume)”; “lentil soup or dish”: 3dess in Tunisian.