9aws قوس
Tunisian Derja · noun
“9aws” (قوس) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning arch, archway.
Meanings
- arch, archway
- bow (weapon)
- parenthesis
Usage
9aws refers first of all to a curved shape, notably the arch of a doorway or monument, such as the old gates of the medina. The expression 9aws 9za7 means "rainbow" and is very common. The word also means the bow used for shooting and, at school, the parenthesis: bin 9awsin ("in parentheses"). The plural is a9was. The pronunciation wavers between 9aws and 9ous. The word belongs to the everyday register and carries no particular connotation. Note that it does not have the musical sense of a string instrument's bow (French "archet").
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9aws” but also “9ous”, “qaws”, “kaws” and “9aous”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.