Gharbi
/ˈɡɑːr.bi/noun
A style of popular music originating in western Tunisia.
Did you know?Gharbi comes from Arabic gharb, meaning “west” and “sunset”; the same root names the Maghreb, literally “the place where the sun sets.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*ġ-r-b
“A reconstructed root associated with setting, disappearance, the west, and foreignness.”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
gharb (غرب)
“West; sunset; the direction where the sun disappears.”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
gharbi (غربي)
“Western; belonging to the west.”
Modern Tunisian Arabic
Tunisian Arabic
gharbi
“Western, especially associated with western Tunisia and its cultural traditions.”
20th Century
English
gharbi
“A Tunisian style of popular music originating in the west of the country.”