mestara مسطرة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“mestara” (مسطرة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning ruler for drawing, measuring.
Meanings
- ruler for drawing, measuring
- school ruler
Usage
Mestara means the ruler, the flat instrument used to draw straight lines or to measure. It is the usual word at school, in children's pencil cases, and for the carpenter or the mason. For example, "jib l-mestara" means "bring the ruler". The usual plural is msater. This word does not mean a rule in the sense of a law or principle: for that, qa3ida or another term is used. Its pronunciation varies by region and speaker, hence the spellings with or without a vowel after the m.
Example
نسيت المسطرة ف الدار
nsit l-mestara f dar
“I forgot the ruler at home.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mestara” but also “mistara”, “mstara” and “mastara”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mestara” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “ruler for drawing and measuring”: mastra in Tunisian.