zarbout ازربوط
Tunisian Derja · noun
“zarbout” (ازربوط) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning spinning top (toy).
Meanings
- spinning top (toy)
Usage
Zarbout means the traditional wooden spinning top, often fitted with a metal tip. You wind a string (khit) around it, then throw it with a sharp pull to make it spin. It is a typical childhood toy, associated with street games and nostalgia. You say dawwer ezzarbout for "to spin the top". With the article, the z is doubled in speech (ezzarbout), which explains the spelling with an initial alif. Figuratively, someone who cannot sit still can be said to spin kif ezzarbout.
Example
شرالي بابا زربوط جديد ونعلمني كيفاش ندورو.
chrali baba zarbout jdid w 3allemni kifech ndawwrou.
“Dad bought me a new spinning top and taught me how to spin it.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zarbout” but also “ezzarbout”, “zerbout” and “zarboot”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.