Lalla (title)

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Lalla (Lella), Řalla or Řadja is an Amazigh word and title meaning "Lady", "My lady", "Miss." or "Mrs.".

The honorific title Lalla is used all over the countries of the Maghreb, which are Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Libya, to politely address or mention any woman. In Morocco, if the respected or adult woman is known to the person, he or she would address her using the title Lalla before using her personal name or family name. In Mauritania, Lalla is often used on its own as a given name for women. It is sometimes also used with another noun to form a compound given name, such as in the names of Lalla-Aicha and Lalla-Meryem.

The title Lalla has always been in standard use by the many royal families of Morocco and Tunisia as a title for each and every princess and king's wife. It is also used as a fixed honorary title in combination with the woman's personal name as a sign of distinction given to women from royal or noble families among the people of the Maghreb. In many place names and mausoleums in the Maghreb, the title Lalla can also be understood as "female saint".

In the everyday Berber language, the word Lalla can also mean in some regions "older sister", "older female cousin", "aunt", "mother-in-law", etc. The word has dialectal varieties such as Řalla and Řadja, but the form Lalla is the most common. The word Lalla is derived from the Berber language noun Alallu which means "dignity", and from the Berber verb "lullet" meaning "to be free" or "to be noble".^[1] The Berber word "tilelli", which means freedom, is related to the same semantic field.

Smiyet (or Smiyit) Lalla is a title of respect used for a daughter bearing the same name as her mother or grandmother.

The masculine versions of the title Lalla in Morocco are: Moulay, Sidi (of Arabic origin); and "Mass", "Dda", "Dadda" (of Berber origin). The two titles "Moulay" and "Sidi" are said to princes, chieftains, saints, or any respected men in society or family.