semma سمى
Moroccan Darija · verb
“semma” (سمى) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to name, give a name to.
Meanings
- to name, give a name to
- to say bismillah before acting
Usage
The verb semma, present tense kaysemmi, means to give a name, especially to a child. To say "to name after someone", use the construction semma 3la: "semmah 3la jeddou", he named him after his grandfather. The form tsemma, present kaytsemma, means "to be called": "kaytsemma Youssef". The verb also has a religious sense: to say "bismillah" before eating or starting something. For example, a child is told "semmi!" before the meal. The related noun is smiya, "name".
Example
سمّات بنتها سلمى
semmat bentha Salma
“She named her daughter Salma.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “semma” but also “smma”, “sema” and “samma”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “semma” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to name, give a first name”; “to say "bismillah" before acting”: samma in Tunisian.