سنغري

North Levantine Arabic

Alternative forms

سنكري, سنچري, سنگري (alternative spelling)
سمغري (samgari)
سنغرجي (sangarji), سمغرجي (samgarji)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /san.ɡa.ri/, [ˈsaŋɡari]

Etymology

Originally referred to a tinker (“tinsmith”) in Arabic, and was perhaps borrowed from Italian zingaro (“Gypsy, Roma, tinker”). The m of some alternative forms would then be from sporadic dissimilation.

Noun

سنغري • (sangari) m (feminine سنغرية)

plumber
- 2017, chapter 1 (8:49 from the start), in كراميل [Caramel]‎^[1], season 1, spoken by Maya (Maguy Bou Ghosn), Lebanon:
  مين؟ جهاد المقاول؟ ولا سمير الحلاق؟ ولا توني السنغري؟ ولا شفيق اللي عم يدرس بالجامعة؟
  Who? Jihad the contractor? Or was it Sameer the barber? Or was it Tony the plumber? Or was it Shafiq who's studying at university?

References

Dr. Vaniyambadi Abdur Rahim, quotee (2011) “تأثيل كلمة سمكري [Etymology of سمكري]”, in Al-Ankaa (in Arabic): “هو من zingari تْسنگري بـالإيطالية بمعنى الغجر، وهم معروفون بممارستهم السمكرة. ― It is from zingari /t͡singari/ in Italian, meaning ghajar, as they are known for practicing [this].”