atar أثر
Moroccan Darija · noun
“atar” (أثر) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning effect, impact.
Meanings
- effect, impact
- trace, mark left behind
Usage
Atar belongs to a rather formal register. It is used mostly when talking about consequences, health or emotions, and often with the verb khella ("to leave"): khella atar, "it left a mark, an impact". In everyday conversation, people often rephrase with the verb 2etter 3la ("to influence, to affect"), which comes from the same root. Be careful not to confuse the two: atar is the noun, 2etter the verb. In the plural, one says atar or âtâr, mainly in learned contexts such as archaeology or "remains".
Example
هاد المشكل خلا أثر كبير فيا
had lmochkil khella atar kbir fiya
“This problem left a big impact on me.”
Forms
| plural | aataar |
|---|
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “atar” but also “2atar”, “athar”, “2athar” and “atr”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 2 is hamza (ء), a glottal stop.
Type “atar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “effect, impression left”; “trace”: athar in Algerian.