3arch عرش
Tunisian Derja · noun
“3arch” (عرش) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning tribe, clan.
Meanings
- tribe, clan
- throne
Usage
In Tunisia, 3arch (plural 3rouch) refers above all to the tribe, the extended family group that claims a common ancestor. The notion remains alive mainly in the interior and the South. People ask min ana 3arch? ("which tribe?"). The word also appears in debates about tribalism (3rouchiya). Its second sense, "throne", comes from Standard Arabic. It is found mostly in religious vocabulary (3arch errab, the throne of God) or in connection with monarchies. The gloss "branch" given by some sources does not match everyday usage.
Example
هو من عرش معروف في الجنوب.
howa min 3arch ma3rouf fel janoub.
“He comes from a well-known tribe in the South.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3arch” but also “3arsh” and “arch”. 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.
Type “3arch” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “throne (of the monarchy)”; “tribe, tribal group”: 3arch in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “tribe, lineage group”; “throne (classical sense)”: 3erch in Algerian.