# All dialects: egg, chick, hen, rooster



## Hemza

Hello,

How are egg, chick, hen and rooster called in other dialects? In Morocco you may hear:

Egg: بيض mostly and بيط in some North Western dialects (the ض always turns into a ط in these).
Chick: I know two words: كتكوت and فلّوس (this latter comes from Latin if I'm not wrong)
Hen: دجاجة and in rural areas they call it عتوقة (bedouin ق).
Rooster: فرّوج and ديك are used. A yound rooster is called فرخ if I'm not wrong.

Thank you.


----------



## djara

Tunisian:
Egg: عضمة ج. عضم 
Chick: فلّوس indeed, from Latin _pullus_
Young hen: عتّوقة the ق is always pronounced g even in urban dialects (a hen not old enough to lay eggs)
Hen: دجاجة
Rooster: سردوك


----------



## Sadda7

Algeria:

Egg: بَيضة (pl. بَِيْض or بيضات), عَظْمَة (pl. عظمات) and I heard some people call it كَعبة. 
Chick: فَلُّوس, كتكوت or فْرِيخ.
Hen: دجاجة
Rooster: فَرّوج or سردوك.


----------



## Hemza

Thank you. Any idea why in some places, عظم means "eggs"? To me, it means "bones" . It's the first time I come across سردوك.

Ps: It's indeed عتّوقة as well in Morocco, I forgot the شدّة


----------



## Mahaodeh

In Palestinian Arabic:
Egg: بيضة
Chick: صوص, less common but widely understood كتكوت.
Hen: جاجة (the دال is dropped). A فرّوج is a young chicken (either gender) or older chick.
Cock/rooster: ديك

Iraqi Arabic:
Egg: بيضة
Chick: كتكوت or فرخ (the latter can be confusing as it applies to any bird’s baby)
Hen: دِجاجة (note كسرة on دال)
Cock: ديك, pronounce ديچ = deech


----------



## tounsi51

Hemza said:


> Thank you. Any idea why in some places, عظم means "eggs"? To me, it means "bones" . It's the first time I come across سردوك.



The pronunciation of bones and eggs is slightly different. No شدة on ظ for eggs


----------



## Hemza

tounsi51 said:


> The pronunciation of bones and eggs is slightly different. No شدة on ظ for eggs


Do you pronounce bones عظّم??


----------



## emanko

Egyptian:
Egg بيضة
Hen فرخة
Rooster ديك
Chick كتكوت


----------



## Hemza

Mahaodeh said:


> Hen: جاجة (the دال is dropped).


You remind me that I think I've heard in some Algerian dialects (@Sadda7 will correct me) eggs are called اولاد الجاج .


----------



## Sadda7

Hemza said:


> You remind me that I think I've heard in some Algerian dialects (@Sadda7 will correct me) eggs are called اولاد الجاج .


Correct, in Algiers and some northern cities people call it ولاد الجاج.


----------



## tounsi51

Hemza said:


> Do you pronounce bones عظّم??


 
yep


----------



## WadiH

Hemza said:


> You remind me that I think I've heard in some Algerian dialects (@Sadda7 will correct me) eggs are called اولاد الجاج .



We call chickens بنات المذّن [المؤذّن].


----------



## Hemza

Anyone knows the origin of عتّوقة? The noun is found from Morocco to Western Egypt. Given the letters, I suppose it is an Arabic word but I found nothing on the Web.


tounsi51 said:


> yep


We don't hence I was surprised.


WadiH said:


> We call chickens بنات المذّن [المؤذّن].


wow . Not to be used in the mosque haha.

Is there some reason? I know for instance that in Libya and some Egyptian areas, eggs are called ضحي (+كحروت in Southern Egypt) because of the pejorative connotation of بيض which may be misunderstood for testicle. Would it be the same reason which explains these funny metaphors found in your dialect and in Algeria?


----------



## WadiH

Because the rooster crows at the time of the dawn prayer it is seen as a kind of muezzin, and the chickens are his daughters.


----------



## raamez

ِِA less common name for chicken in Syria which derives from the sound it make, is قرقة. Apart from that it is more or less the same as the Palestinian ones. Another name for a young hen is شلفون hence the family name!


----------



## djara

Hemza said:


> Anyone knows the origin of عتّوقة?


I don't know the origin, but this may contribute to a better understanding of the word. I remember that in the old days we had Soufi groups called عتاتيق (the plural of عتوقة) and one of their distinctive features was to pluck their beards while sort of dancing.


raamez said:


> A less common name for chicken in Syria which derives from the sound it make, is قرقة.


In Tunisia, دجاجة كاركة is a brooding hen, one that sits on eggs until they hatch.


----------



## Sadda7

djara said:


> In Tunisia, دجاجة كاركة is a brooding hen, one that sits on eggs until they hatch.


Same in Algeria, but with a [g] or ق.


----------



## barkoosh

_In Lebanon:_
Egg: بيضة
Chick: صُوص (less common: كتكوت)
Hen: دجاجة. Broody hen: قِرقة
Rooster: ديك.
فَرُّوج is a whole chicken as food.


----------



## djara

Hemza said:


> Anyone knows the origin of عتّوقة?


ِClearly from Arabic. See Lisan:
العاتِقُ من الطير فوق الناهض، وهو في أَول ما يَتَحَسَّرُ ريشه الأَول وينبت له ريش جُلْذِيّ أَي شديد، وقيل: العاتِقُ من الحمام ما لم يُسِنّ ويَسْتَحْكِم، والجمع عُتَّق.


----------



## Hemza

Thank you @djara. I only looked for it in المعاني but to no avail and I tried to find a website/blog that tackles on it (there is the page which lists it yet it only says: عَتّوقة: الدجاجة في طور البلوغ، من عتّوك لغة). It's written with a ك because that's how Moroccans represents the "g". Given its spread throughout North Africa (except Nile dialects) I'm pretty sure we may find it in Arabia but till now, I found nothing. Given its rural/bedouin distribution and its pronunciation which even in urban dialects keeps the "g", it might have come with the second arabisation wave. والله أعلم.


----------

