7sira حصيرة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“7sira” (حصيرة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning mat, woven rug.
Meanings
- mat, woven rug
- prayer mat
Usage
7Sira refers to a mat woven from rush, palm or plastic, laid on the floor in homes, mosques or on the beach. People sit on it, pray on it, or place it under a carpet. The word is common and neutral; the plural is 7Sayer. It is not a wool rug (zerbia) nor a merely decorative prayer rug (sejjada), although a small 7Sira can be used for prayer. The expression gles 3la l-7Sira evokes a simple, modest life.
Example
فرش الحصيرة فالجردة باش نڭلسو
ferch l-7Sira f j-jerda bach nglsu
“Spread the mat out in the garden so we can sit.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “7sira” but also “hsira”, “7ssira” and “7asira”. 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 “7sira” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “woven mat laid on the ground”; “rush prayer mat”: 7sira in Tunisian.