sour سور
Tunisian Derja · noun
“sour” (سور) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning rampart, city wall.
Meanings
- rampart, city wall
- enclosure wall
Usage
Sour means an enclosing wall. It refers above all to the ramparts of Tunisian medinas, such as those of Sousse, Sfax or Kairouan. The word is also used for the boundary wall of a house, a school or a plot of land. The plural is swar. For a simple interior wall, 7it is used instead. Sour therefore implies the idea of an enclosure or fence. It appears in place names and in expressions such as "sour eS-Sin" (the Great Wall of China).
Example
الصغار يلعبو حذا سور المدينة.
es-sghar yal3bou 7dhé sour el mdina.
“The kids are playing near the medina walls.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sour” but also “sur” and “soor”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.