3atrous عتروس
Tunisian Derja · noun
“3atrous” (عتروس) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning billy goat, male kid.
Meanings
- billy goat, male kid
- boorish or stubborn man (derogatory)
Usage
3atrous refers to a billy goat or young male goat; the plural is 3tares. It is a very common word in rural settings and in contexts of livestock and festivals, when talking about the animal to be slaughtered. It also appears in folk poetry and songs. Figuratively, applied to a man, it becomes mocking or derogatory, targeting someone crude, pig-headed, or smelly. Avoid using it casually toward a person. For a nanny goat, one says me3za.
Example
شرا عتروس للعيد.
chra 3atrous lel 3id.
“He bought a billy goat for the Eid.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3atrous” but also “3atrouss”, “atrous” and “3etrous”. 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 “3atrous” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “billy goat, male goat”; “stubborn or swaggering man (figurative)”: 3atrous in Algerian.