3kkaz عكاز
Tunisian Derja · noun
“3kkaz” (عكاز) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning crutch.
Meanings
- crutch
- walking stick, cane
- support (figurative)
Usage
3kkaz refers to the crutch used after an injury, and more broadly to an elderly person's cane. The common expression is "yemchi bel 3kkaz" (he walks with a crutch). The plural is 3kakez. Figuratively, the word refers to the person you lean on in hardship, especially in proverbs about brotherhood and mutual aid. For an English speaker, the word covers both "crutch" and "cane"; context indicates which sense is meant.
Example
ولّى يمشي بالعكّاز من بعد ما تكسرت ساقو
walla yemchi bel 3kkaz men ba3d ma tkassret sa9ou
“He's been walking with a crutch since he broke his leg.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3kkaz” but also “3akkaz”, “3okkaz” and “akkaz”. 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 “3kkaz” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “crutch”; “cane, walking stick”: 3kkaz in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “cane, walking stick”; “crutch”: 3okkaz in Algerian.