ma7tout محطوط
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“ma7tout” (محطوط) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning put, placed, set down.
Meanings
- put, placed, set down
- framed, wrongly accused
Usage
Ma7tout is the passive participle of 7att, "to put, to place". It describes something set down somewhere ("ma7tout 3al tawla", placed on the table) or put on the fire ("ma7tout 3al nar"). It is also used for a person placed in a position, often with the idea that they got it through connections. "Ma7tout bel ghalet" means that someone has been wrongly accused or set up. The feminine is ma7touta, the plural ma7toutin. Common register, very frequent in speech.
Example
المفاتح محطوطة على الطاولة.
el mfate7 ma7touta 3al tawla.
“The keys are on the table.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ma7tout” but also “mahtout”, “m7tout” and “ma7toot”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.