firma فيرما
Moroccan Darija · noun
“firma” (فيرما) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning farm, agricultural holding.
Meanings
- farm, agricultural holding
Usage
Firma is the usual word for a farm or agricultural holding, especially a large modern property with crops, greenhouses or livestock. You say khdam f lfirma, "he works at the farm". The word is almost always used with the article: lfirma. The plural is firmat. It is a well-integrated loanword that follows darija morphology. For a small family plot, people often prefer l-ard, "the land", or l-3azib depending on the region. The Arabic spelling varies between an alif ending (فيرما) and a ta marbuta ending (فيرمة).
Example
باه خدام ف واحد الفيرما حدا البلاد
bah khddam f wa7d lfirma 7da lblad
“His father works on a farm near the village.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “firma” but also “ferma” and “fyrma”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find فيرما and فيرمة, all the same word.
Type “firma” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
The same word also exists in Algerian Darja, written فيرمة, where it means “farm, agricultural holding”; “rural estate, property”: ferma in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
The same word also exists in Tunisian Derja, written فيرمة, where it means “farm, agricultural operation”; “country property”: firma in Tunisian.