3adhma عظمة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“3adhma” (عظمة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning bone.
Meanings
- bone
- fruit pit
- bone with leftover meat
Usage
3adhma means "bone"; it is the singulative of 3dham. It is often used in cooking and at the butcher's: "l7am bla 3dham" (boneless meat), or "3adhma mta3 ellou7" for a marrow bone. 3adhma is also used for the pit of a fruit (olive, date, peach). The expression "3adhma fil 7al9" (a bone in the throat) means a persistent nuisance or obstacle. In the construct state, the word becomes 3adhmet. The sense of "greatness" belongs to standard Arabic; in derja, 3adhma first means bone.
Example
عطي العظمة للكلب
a3ti el 3adhma lel kelb
“Give the bone to the dog.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3adhma” but also “3dhma”, “3adhmet”, “3adma”, “adhma” and “3adhamet”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find عظمة and عضمة, all the same word.
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.