m3za معزة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“m3za” (معزة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning goat.
Meanings
- goat
Usage
M3za means the goat, the domestic animal. The collective is lm3ez, "the goats, the herd of goats", and 7wali is used for sheep, which should not be confused with it. The word appears in a very well-known Moroccan expression, m3za w law tarat, "it's a goat, even if it flies". It is said of someone who stubbornly sticks to their opinion despite the evidence. Used to refer to a person, the word can also be mocking or pejorative; it is therefore best avoided in that sense.
Example
جدي عندو معزة فالدوار
jeddi 3ndo m3za f ddouar
“My grandfather has a goat in the village.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “m3za” but also “ma3za”, “me3za” and “maaza”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “m3za” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “goat”: m3za in Tunisian.