mkhed مخض
Moroccan Darija · verb
“mkhed” (مخض) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to churn milk.
Meanings
- to churn milk
- to shake vigorously
Usage
Mkhed means to churn milk to separate the butter and obtain lben (buttermilk). The word belongs mainly to domestic and rural vocabulary: churning is traditionally done in the chekwa, a skin bag that is swung or shaken for a long time. The object is usually l7lib (the milk). Common conjugation: mkhed, ymkhed, and in the present katmkhed. The verb is still known in towns, even though the practice is rarer there. By extension, it can mean to shake a container hard. Pitfall: the lben that results is not ordinary curdled milk, but buttermilk.
Example
كتمخض الحليب فالشكوة باش تخرج الزبدة.
katmkhed l7lib f chekwa bach tkhrej zebda.
“She churns the milk in the chekwa so the butter comes out.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mkhed” but also “mkhd”, “m5ed” and “mkhad”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.