keswa كسوة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“keswa” (كسوة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning dress (women's garment).
Meanings
- dress (women's garment)
- outfit, clothes
Usage
Keswa mainly refers to the dress worn by a woman, whether simple or dressy. One says lebset keswa ("she put on a dress") or labsa keswa ("she is wearing a dress"). The usual plural is ksawi. Depending on context, the word can also mean a complete outfit, especially a festive one. For clothes in general, people rather use hwayej. Note: keswa does not apply to a skirt, which is generally called jupe or sabniya depending on the region. It is often paired with a colour or an adjective such as zwina.
Example
لابسة كسوة زرقة
labssa kesswa zer9a
“She is wearing a blue dress.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “keswa” but also “kswa”, “kesswa”, “kaswa” and “ksswa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “keswa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “suit, outfit”; “uniform”: kesswa in Tunisian.