timessi

Senhaja de Srair

Alternative forms

• imessi (Ketama)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Berber.

Cognates include Kabyle timess (“fire, hell”), Tachawit times (“fire, hell”), Northern Saharan Berber timsi (“fire, hell”), Siwi temsi (“fire, hell”), Nefusa temsi (“fire, fireplace”), Sokna timsi (“fire”), Tuareg temse (“fire”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /timəsːi/

Noun

timessi f (usually uncountable, Tifinagh spelling ⵜⵉⵎⴻⵙⵙⵉ)

1. fire, heat, warmth

   Synonym: lɛafya (Hmed)

   Kayen timessi din. ― There is a fire over there.

2. fever

Declension

Inflection of timessi

	singular	plural
free state	timessi	—
annexed state	tmessi	—

Derived terms

• ikeccuḍen n tmessi (“firewood”)

References

• Gutova, Evgeniya; Byler, Jonathan (2025), “Senhaja de Srair - English Dictionary”, in Webonary‎, retrieved 2025
• Gutova, Evgeniya (2021) Senhaja Berber Varieties: Phonology, Morphology, and Morphosyntax (Thesis)‎, Paris, France: HAL

Tarifit

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Berber.

Compare Kabyle timess (“fire, hell”), Tachawit times (“fire, hell”), Northern Saharan Berber timsi (“fire, hell”), Siwi temsi (“fire, hell”), Nefusa temsi (“fire, fireplace”), Sokna timsi (“fire”), Tuareg temse (“fire”), and Tashelhit timssi (“fire,light”).

Noun

timessi f (usually uncountable, Tifinagh spelling ⵜⵉⵎⴻⵙⵙⵉ)

1. fire, flame, blaze
2. spark
3. hearth (of fire)
4. fever

Declension

Inflection of timessi

	singular	plural
free state	timessi	—
annexed state	tmessi	—

Related terms

• timisit (“flint”)