# EA: برشام



## Ghabi

Learnt this fun word today ("crib/cheat sheet", _antisèche_ in French or _chuleta_ in Spanish), am wondering its etymology (literally "rivet"), any thoughts? And is this word understood in other Arab countries?


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## WadiH

Ghabi said:


> is this word understood in other Arab countries?



You bet.


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## Josh_

The Badawi-Hinds says it is from the Persian "parchiin."  I looked up  rivet on Google translator and found "پر چین کردن" by number 2.

I just wanted to add that this word, برشام, is also used to mean "pills" (at least in the Egyptian dialect).  I think برشام is mostly used collectively, while the singular is برشامة.


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## Faylasoof

In Persian _parchiin_ earlier meant:<crooked, bent, curved> ,<fence / hedge> here (page 240), but also <rivet> in modern dictionaries, which also give _parch, _like Google. Interestingly not mentioned in older dictionaries (Steingass, Aryanpour) where the verb _barkhiidan_ appears for riveting nails.


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## Ghabi

Thanks for the detective work, guys. 

So how's "rivet/pill [lozenge?]" related to "cheat sheet"? The Eng. "cirb" seems to originate from the card game "cribbage", where you can count scores with small sheets of paper, hence "cheat sheet".

Besides using paper, "cribbage" also uses the "cribbage board" (also known simply as "crib") for keeping scores (in fact this seems to be the norm, but I'm not sure), on which you can see some "pegs". 

So perhaps برشام is simply a translation of the Eng. "peg"? Does it sound plausible?


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## cherine

I'm not sure how "bershaam" (originally used for "pills") came to be used for the cheating sheets, but maybe because those sheets are so small they're almost like a pill?


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## Josh_

Assuming the Persian origin is correct, I actually think the original meaning was "rivet," and then sometime later the word acquired the meaning of "pill."  I say this mainly because the the word in Persian apparently means "rivet" and also Spiro's Egyptian dictionary from the late 19th century (1895 to be exact) only gives the meaning of "rivet." Unless Spiro was unaware of that is also meant "pill" this seems to indicate that the word took on the meaning of "pill" after that time. And then even later than that came the meaning of "cheat sheet."  

I too have wondered about this connection since rivet, a pill, and a cheat sheet, seem to be completely different things.  

Something just occurred to me when re-reading Spiro's entry for the word and then looking at Hans Wehr's entry.  They both give the word wafer (although Spiro is using it with the meanin of an adhesive material), but Hans Wehr lists wafer and also lists "Host" as used in [some denominations of Christianity.  In Catholicism, it is the sacramental bread used during Communion.  This bread is often white in color as well as being round and flat.  There is a picture here.  As we can see, they resemble the "classic" white pill (like the one found here, never mind the pun).  As well as resembling pills they also kind of resemble small sheet of papers, perhaps the kind that one would write crib notes on and conceal.

Now, I wonder if برشام, as far as the meaning of pill goes, first referred to wafers of this type.  And then, since these wafers resemble pills, the word took on the meaning of pill (the classic white pill at first, but ended up referring to any type of pill).  And in the meantime it also took on the meaning of "cheat sheet" since they kind if resemble small pieces of paper.


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## cherine

Hi Josh,

I'm not sure I follow here  but to my knowledge, host is munaawala مناولة (the verb is يتناول). I mean, Christians don't use bershaam for host.
If I'm misunderstanding your point, please forgive me and try to explain again.


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## Ghabi

Josh, you mean the "wafer paper", right? I just check my Arabic-Chinese dictionary, and it says it can mean the paper in Egyptian (we call it "rice paper" in Chinese, commonly used for cookery). Can you confirm that, Cherine?


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## azeid

This is really interesting. 
Despite the origin of this word برشام, it means pills for medication in the Egyptian dialect and simply it means sheet cheat in the students' slang because of the figurative connection.As the pills will help to recover your health, as "sheet cheat" will help you to pass the exam,Such expressions are very common in the egyptian dialect.
مبرشم means something closed very well like the jars of (honey,...).
I hope this short post helps.


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## Masjeen

well, it is in kuwaiti برشامه ..br-shama


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## Masjeen

Josh_ said:


> Assuming the Persian origin is correct.


Nope!
حاول تشوف المعجم مادة برشم


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## Josh_

cherine said:


> Hi Josh,
> 
> I'm not sure I follow here  but to my knowledge, host is munaawala مناولة (the verb is يتناول). I mean, Christians don't use bershaam for host.
> If I'm misunderstanding your point, please forgive me and try to explain again.


Yes, I did not mean to imply that it is still used (if it ever was) or that it is/was the standard word for host, but for some reason it was listed with that meaning in the Hans Wehr (so perhaps it is/was used somewhere). I actually got carried away with that religious aspect, when actually it seems broader than that -- as broad as the word "wafer" in English, which is used generally to mean any thin, crisp cookie or biscuit-like food.  I know that it does not carry this meaning in Egyptian today, but perhaps at one time it did and that it where the meaning of pill came from (while the meaning of wafer was lost), as well as cheat sheet, which, as I said, is a small piece of paper, and could resemble a wafer is shape.

Of course, all this is speculative.



Ghabi said:


> Josh, you mean the "wafer paper", right? I just check my Arabic-Chinese dictionary, and it says it can mean the paper in Egyptian (we call it "rice paper" in Chinese, commonly used for cookery). Can you confirm that, Cherine?


According to Spiro's dictionary the wafers that can be used to seal envelopes.  I looked it up at dictionary.com and found this definition: " a thin disk of dried paste, gelatin, adhesive paper, or the like, used for sealing letters, attaching papers, etc."  At any rate, as I said above, that seems to be a meaning that is not used anymore (if it was ever used).



Masjeen said:


> Nope!
> حاول تشوف المعجم مادة برشم


Instead of coming in with a brusque "Nope!," why not offer an explanation as to why it is wrong, and then perhaps offering an alternative view as to the etymology.


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## cherine

Ghabi said:


> Josh, you mean the "wafer paper", right? I just check my Arabic-Chinese dictionary, and it says it can mean the paper in Egyptian (we call it "rice paper" in Chinese, commonly used for cookery). Can you confirm that, Cherine?


I think the rice paper is what we call wara2 zebda ورق زبدة which is now largely replaced by aluminium paper (wara2 foyel). 

I can't say about old usage (old as before 35 years ago  ) but bershaam, in Egypt, only has these meanings: pills, cheat sheet, the red seal used by the police/courts to seal places or envelopes containing classified documents or votes (actually the red seal itself is called sham3 a7mar شمع أحمر, but we use the verb barshem/yebarshem برشم/يبرشم for the act of sealing).
The adjective metbarshem متبرشم means sealed.
The adjective mebarshem مبرشم means "high" as in someone who took pills برشام (one form of drugs) so he became مبرشم .

Yes, we're very creative and inventive with words. 



azeid said:


> simply it means sheet cheat in the students' slang because of the figurative connection.As the pills will help to recover your health, as "sheet cheat" will help you to pass the exam


I thought about this too, but as I wasn't very sure I didn't post it. I'm glad you did. 


> مبرشم means something closed very well like the jars of (honey,...).


I agree we use mebarshem for sealed jars/boxes/envelops. But I think me*t*barshem is more common, at least to differentiate the meanings or usages (sealed vs. high).



Josh_ said:


> I actually got carried away with that religious aspect, when actually it seems broader than that -- as broad as the word "wafer" in English, which is used generally to mean any thin, crisp cookie or biscuit-like food. I know that it does not carry this meaning in Egyptian today, but perhaps at one time it did and that it where the meaning of pill came from (while the meaning of wafer was lost), as well as cheat sheet, which, as I said, is a small piece of paper, and could resemble a wafer is shape.


I don't know where Hans Wehr got that meaning, maybe it was used in some places. As for wafer, we (in Egypt) call it baskoot بسكوت just like any other biscuit, and sometimes when we want to be precise we say baskoot wafer/waver (yes, many pronounce it wit a "v"  ) So, again, the usage of bershaam for cheat sheets can't have come from wafer, at least not in Egypt.


> Of course, all this is speculative.


I guess we're all speculating to a degree or another here, each according to his or her knowledge and experience. 


> According to Spiro's dictionary the wafers that can be used to seal envelopes. I looked it up at dictionary.com and found this definition: " a thin disk of dried paste, gelatin, adhesive paper, or the like, used for sealing letters, attaching papers, etc."


Thanks for mentioning this. I think pills got to be called birshaam (along with a2raaS/e2raaS أقراص) because they're sealed or compressed with this kind of seal. But this is just another speculation.


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## Josh_

cherine said:


> I can't say about old usage (old as before 35 years ago  ) but bershaam, in Egypt, only has these meanings: pills, cheat sheet, the red seal used by the police/courts to seal places or envelopes containing classified documents or votes (actually the red seal itself is called sham3 a7mar شمع أحمر, but we use the verb barshem/yebarshem برشم/يبرشم for the act of sealing).
> The adjective metbarshem متبرشم means sealed.


Yes, this is most likely what Spiro means by "to seal with a wafer."  I am actually not sure what those stickers are called in English, other an "seals."  I have never heard them referred to as "wafers," but then again I have never worked in an office in which this type of activity takes place.  I wonder about the frequency of the word with that meaning in English today.



> I don't know where Hans Wehr got that meaning, maybe it was used in some places. As for wafer, we (in Egypt) call it baskoot بسكوت just like any other biscuit, and sometimes when we want to be precise we say baskoot wafer/waver (yes, many pronounce it wit a "v"  ) So, again, the usage of bershaam for cheat sheets can't have come from wafer, at least not in Egypt.


I'm actually not explaining myself all that well.  I didn't mean that it came directly from the meaning of wafer (if that usage ever existed), but rather from the shape of برشام, which are often small, thin and flat, as are small pieces of paper used as cheat sheets.  

The discussion of size was actually where I was wanting to go with my speculation, rather than the the discussion of the meanings or possible past meanings of the word.



> Thanks for mentioning this. I think pills got to be called birshaam (along with a2raaS/e2raaS أقراص) because they're sealed or compressed with this kind of seal. But this is just another speculation.


Yes, that could be as well.  I thought they were called أقراص because of their disk-like shape.



azeid said:


> This is really interesting.
> Despite the origin of this word برشام, it means pills for medication in the Egyptian dialect and simply it means sheet cheat in the students' slang because of the figurative connection.As the pills will help to recover your health, as "sheet cheat" will help you to pass the exam,Such expressions are very common in the egyptian dialect.


Yes, I like that explanation as well.  A similar one that I had was that it was originally used as a code word (possibly so that teachers and professors would not understand what was meant).  Of course, now it is commonplace and everyone knows its meaning.


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## londonmasri

Looking over this old post, would:
a sealed jar = barTamaan metbarshem
seal the jar tightly ya fulaan = barshem el barTamaan ya fulaan

Would an 'air-tight seal' be anything other 'metbarshem/a kwayyes?'

Thanks


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## cherine

londonmasri said:


> Looking over this old post, would:
> a sealed jar = barTamaan metbarshem


Yes.


> seal the jar tightly ya fulaan = barshem el barTamaan ya fulaan


As far as I know, sealing a jar can't be done manually, so we don't use this. We just say اقفل البرطمان كويس or اقفل البرطمان جامد.
Unless used figuratively of course.


> Would an 'air-tight seal' be anything other 'metbarshem/a kwayyes?'


Maybe.
Although I think the metbarshem by itself is enough.


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## إسكندراني

Or mebarshem مبرشم.
For me, barshem برشم for 'close tightly' is fine. اقفله برشمه.
Actually can I ask why you're so confident this برشام is from a persian origin? Couldn't it be from the arabised verb برشم?


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## i_guess_i_am_a_genius

Sa3idis use barsham in the same context
mbarsham means "high" from a pill, m7ashshesh means from weed
metbarsham means something is sealed so tight i cant open it
My brother uses it for females that won't "put out" lol, not sure if that's specific to him, as he's the only one I've heard use it in that context/
etc
But...
I have heard Iraqis use "bercham" for nailing something together or riveting something to another, but only in that context


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