mersa مرسى
Moroccan Darija · noun
“mersa” (مرسى) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning port, harbour.
Meanings
- port, harbour
- harbour area, waterfront
Usage
Mersa refers to a port, especially a fishing port or marina, and by extension the neighbourhood around it. With the article, "lmersa" is in common use in coastal towns for the local harbour, where people go to buy fish or take a stroll. The word also appears in place names. For a large commercial port, you also hear "lport" or "lmina". The plural is mrasi.
Example
مشينا للمرسى نشريو الحوت
mchina l lmersa nchriw l7out
“We went to the port to buy fish.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mersa” but also “marsa”, “mrsa” and “merssa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mersa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “harbour, small fishing port”; “docking place, anchorage”: marsa in Tunisian.