daya ضاية
Moroccan Darija · noun
“daya” (ضاية) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning pond, pool.
Meanings
- pond, pool
- shallow natural lake
Usage
Ḍaya refers to a body of standing water: a pool formed by rain, a pond or a small shallow natural lake. The word is common in rural areas and in the Middle Atlas, where it appears in place names in the form Ḍayet followed by a name. In everyday use, it can also mean a large puddle after a storm. The plural is ḍayat. This word is not used for the sea or a river, which are l-b7er and l-wad respectively.
Example
بعد الشتا ولات الضاية عامرة بالما.
ba3d chta wlat DDaya 3amra b lma.
“After the rain, the pond filled with water.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “daya” but also “dhaya” and “dayet”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “daya” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “pond, small lake”; “rain-filled depression”: daya in Algerian.