smta سمطة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“smta” (سمطة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning belt.
Meanings
- belt
- belt (martial arts rank)
Usage
Smta is the usual word for the belt worn with trousers. It is feminine, and its plural is smati. You specify the material with dyal: smta dyal jjeld, "leather belt". The word is also used for martial arts ranks, as in smta kehla, "black belt". For a car seat belt, the French word "ceinture" is used instead. The English gloss "eel" (anguille) does not match any known usage in Morocco: ignore it. The t is emphatic, hence the spellings with a capital T.
Example
عندو سمطة ديال الجلد
3ndou SemTa dyal jjeld
“He has a leather belt.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “smta” but also “semta” and “samta”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.