3abd عبد
Tunisian Derja · noun
“3abd” (عبد) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning person, human being, someone.
Meanings
- person, human being, someone
- servant (of God), slave
Usage
In Tunisian, 3abd commonly means a person, a human being, especially in negative constructions: "ma famma 7atta 3abd" (there is nobody), "kol 3abd" (everyone). The religious sense of servant of God appears in pious formulas and in many compound names (Abdelaziz, Abdallah). Warning: used to refer to a Black person, the word is a racist slur. It should therefore be avoided in that sense. The related verb 3bed means to worship. The plural 3bed is also used in the sense of "people".
Example
ما فمّا حتّى عبد في الشارع
ma famma 7atta 3abd fi chere3
“There is nobody in the street.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3abd” but also “abed”, “3abed”, “abd” and “3bed”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.