m3za معزة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“m3za” (معزة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning goat.
Meanings
- goat
Usage
M3za is the usual word for a goat, whether the animal, its meat or its skin (jild m3za). It is often heard in the countryside and at the livestock market. The male is 3attous (billy goat). Not to be confused with 3allouch, the lamb, or na3ja, the ewe. Applied to a person, it can be a mild jibe at someone stubborn or stupid; the tone determines what is meant. Outside this use, the register is neutral.
Example
عندو زوز معزات في الدار.
3andou zouz m3zet fel dar.
“He has two goats at the house.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “m3za” but also “me3za”, “mi3za” and “maaza”. 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 “m3za” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “goat”: m3za in Moroccan.