msmoum مسموم
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“msmoum” (مسموم) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning venomous, toxic.
Meanings
- venomous, toxic
- poisoned
- embittered, spiteful (figurative)
Usage
Msmoum comes from semm, "poison". It describes a venomous animal, as in ḥnech msmoum, "venomous snake", or a toxic substance. It also describes a person or food that has been poisoned. The feminine is msmouma, the plural msmoumin. Figuratively, it is applied to an embittered, jealous or malicious person. The expression semm kayt9ater menno, literally "poison drips from him", reinforces this idea. English distinguishes "venomous" from "poisoned"; darija has just one word for both. Context shows which meaning is intended.
Example
عدّو حنش مسموم
3DDo 7ench msmoum
“He was bitten by a venomous snake.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “msmoum” but also “msmom”, “masmoum” and “msmum”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “msmoum” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “poisoned, toxic”; “malicious, venomous (person, words)”: masmoum in Tunisian.