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ArchivesRe: Chaimae
in reply to a message by Laslow
Chaima seems to be the French transliteration. In Arabic there are a number of variants : Shayma' or Shaima' شَيْماء, Shima' شيماء or Shyma شیما, used interchangeably (for the same person). The consensus on http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/shima.805619/ is that it from Shamah "mole" in the sense of "beauty mark".
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Yes, in France, by French-speaking North Africans, as opposed to the Shima/Shaima transliteration more used in former British administered Arab countries than in Tunisia, Algeria etc.. Whether that reflects Berber Arabic pronunciation or simply a French orthographical choice, I couldn't say.
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