e3dem اعدام
Tunisian Derja · noun
“e3dem” (اعدام) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning death penalty.
Meanings
- death penalty
- execution (of a convict)
Usage
E3dem is a legal term from Standard Arabic, but all Tunisians understand it and use it when talking about justice or current events. One says "7kamou 3lih bel e3dem" (he was sentenced to death) or "9anoun el e3dem" (the law on the death penalty). The word often comes up in debates on abolition. It is not used for a murder: for that one says "9tal". In colloquial speech, it is sometimes used hyperbolically for a very severe punishment.
Example
حكمو عليه بالإعدام.
7kmou 3lih bel e3dem.
“They sentenced him to death.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “e3dem” but also “2e3dem”, “i3dam” and “a3dem”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 2 is hamza (ء), a glottal stop; 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “e3dem” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “death penalty, execution”: i3dam in Moroccan.