# Lebanese Arabic: واحد عبطها من زندا



## gbasfora

Hi,

I'm not sure how to translate :واحد عبطها من زندا

I guess عبط means to huge / embrace in Lebanon and Palestine and زند means forearm but the translation doesn't make sense for me.

Context :

واحد طلبها واحد خطبها 
واحد عبطها من زندا(زندها ؟)

Thank you


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## analeeh

I think it's 'take by the arm' but let's wait for some natives.


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## shafaq

gbasfora said:


> I guess عبط means to huge / embrace in Lebanon and Palestine and زند means forearm but the translation doesn't make sense for me.


Why doesn't make sense? It says something like:

 While one proceeds asking her hand

and even another gets engaged with her

 at last (surprisingly) an (unforeseen) one really marry her.

In Turkish we also have a saying like it:

Kızı yüz kişi ister bir kişi alır. =Hundred one ask a girl's hand but only one gets married (you can't foresee who will be him).


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## gbasfora

Thank you Analeeh. "And one/the last one took her by (her) arm(arms) " makes sense to me.
Maybe " The last one wrapped her in his arms " makes more sense. What do you say about this?

Thank you Shafaq , but it is very difficult for me  to understand the translation of  *واحد عبطها من زندا*  into "at last (surprisingly) an (unforeseen) one really marry her ".


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## shafaq

Hi gbasfora...
My try wasn't a literal translation. Because you had have the literal thing; and without getting cultural background lies behind; it is difficult to get real purpose of that saying.

Here; it isn't a story taken place between a three male and one female party; but a common expression about a process ending at marriage; narrated via taking a(ny) girl in the centerplace.

Here "to hug a girl by her forearms" means "to marry her" (or with some other words "to have sex with her").


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## analeeh

I don't think you're right, Shafaq. You might be right about the literal meaning of عبطها من زندها but one look at the rest of the lyrics (Gbasfora probably should have provided more context but they're easily available online) shows very clearly that he's talking about what a broad romantic history the woman in the song (ليندا) has - the number of men she's flirted with or had romantic attachments with.


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## shafaq

I have no background data about the (non-mentioned) rest of the  context Analeeh
So I had commented on just what supplied.

All the same; according to the data you supplied; I knew that it isn't a story of "three men and a woman" party.


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## analeeh

I don't think anyone suggested it was a menage-à-quatre - I'm fairly sure Gbasfora was asking about the specific meaning of عبطها من زندها.

Probably the best people to answer will be @barkoosh, @elroy, @Mahaodeh or @momai though.


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## barkoosh

Obviously the word زندها is chosen just because it rhymes with عندها-ليندا. We never say that somebody is hugging someone else بزنده. Is he holding her while grabbing her upper arm? No idea.


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## gbasfora

Sorry Analeeh and Shafaq , I had no idea that my request for help would create a small dissension. 

Here is the whole context :


* ليندا ليندا ياليندا الليله السهرة عندا *

* واحد طلبها واحد خطبها *

* واحد عبطها من زندا *



* عندها شنطة كلها اسامي *

* كل يومين معروف وسامي *

* احمد بطرس فهد و مرقص *



* راح بتجنني هالشنطة *

* ما فيها اسمي طالبها رسمي *

* دوبتي جسمي يا ليندا *


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## barkoosh

It's actually

عندها أجندة كلها أسامي
طوني ومايك، معروف وسامي
أحمد، بطرس، فهد ومرقص...
رح بتجنني الأجندة


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## gbasfora

Thank you Barkoosh . That version makes more sense. But that song has many versions. The one posted by me is sung by* شريف الدرزي *.
There is another one by* ادوارد * totally different :
 

* اسمعي مني قولي لابوك  *
* وان ما ارضيش قولي لاخوك *
*انا بحبك اسالي قلبك هو يقولك يا ليندا*


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## elroy

barkoosh said:


> Obviously the word زندها is chosen just because it rhymes with عندها-ليندا. We never say that somebody is hugging someone else بزنده. Is he holding her while grabbing her upper arm? No idea.


 What does زند mean?


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## barkoosh

elroy said:


> What does زند mean?


Oh yeah! زند in Lebanon can mean both the upper arm and the forearm. So I have no idea what the guy in the song is grabbing.


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## Mahaodeh

barkoosh said:


> Oh yeah! زند in Lebanon can mean both the upper arm and the forearm



I think what is meant is the upper arm and it seems to make more sense in the context - it seems to be an escalating action: the first one asked her (maybe to go out with him?), the second one took a step further and proposed marriage, the third one went ahead and grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. If you grab by the upper arm you get a stronger grip.

Just a guess.


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## elroy

Mahaodeh said:


> the first one asked her (maybe to go out with him?), the second one took a step further and proposed marriage


 In Palestinian Arabic,

طلبها = (formally) asked for her hand in marriage

خطبها = got engaged to her

These are not ambiguous in Palestinian Arabic.


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## Mahaodeh

elroy said:


> طلبها = (formally) asked for her hand in marriage



I know, I was just thinking in the context that includes a lot of guys, she can't be engaged to them all.


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## elroy

There’s only one of each:


gbasfora said:


> واحد طلبها واحد خطبها
> واحد عبطها من زندا(زندها ؟)


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## gbasfora

*Thank you very much to everybody for your help*.


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