tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Apr 23 07:30:26 2008
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Re: Klingon WOTD: ghuS (verb)
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Wednesday, April 23, 2008.
>
>Klingon word: ghuS
>Part of Speech: verb
>Definition: be prepared, ready (to launch)
Used in canon:
cha yIghuS
[Tactical], stand by on torpedoes! ST:TMP
cha yIghuS
Get the torpedoes ready to be fired! TKD
cha yIghuS. So'Ha'
[Arm torpedoes! Uncloak! (untranslated)] ST3
cha yIghuS
Stand by on torpedoes! CK
yISo'Ha'rup, yIghuS!
Stand by to de-cloak for firing. ST5
>Additional Notes:
>KGT p. 56: Ships are also equipped with an explosive weapon called a
>{peng}, usually translated as "torpedo," though "missle" might work just
>as well. The plural form of {peng} is a different word, {cha}. A {peng}
>is launched from a tube usually called a {DuS}, but another term,
>{chetvI'}, is also used, the distinction having something to do with how
>the projectile is actually loaded into the tube. The verb used for
>"launch" or "fire" a weapon of this type is {baH}, and there is even a
>special word, {ghuS}, meaning "prepare to launch." The warhead of the
>torpedo is called its {jorneb} (which seems to contain the verb {jor}
>["explode"] but is otherwise not analyzable).
TKD 36f.: There is, it should be noted, a verb {ghuS} which means "to be
prepared to launch or project (something)". This verb never takes the
subject {-rup}. It is used primarily in reference to torpedoes--so much so
that if the object is not specifically stated, and context does not dictate
otherwise, it is always assumed to be "torpedoes". According, both of the
following sentences mean "Be prepared to launch torpedoes!" or "Stand by on
torpedoes!": {cha yIghuS}, {yIghuS}. The verb {ghuS} can also be used in
reference to, among other things, rockets, missiles,and various kinds of
energy beams (which, like torpedoes, go from one point to another). It is
also used to describe the action of pulling back the elastic band of a
slingshot [{moy'bI'}]. In most other instances of preparedness, however,
{-rup} is required.
>Homonyms:
> ghuS (verb) - lower (spear) to horizontal to attack
KGT 65: It may have been noticed that some of the terminology associated
with spears is identical to that associated with modern weaponry, and
certainly the vocabulary of spear-throwing was adapted for the newer
technology. [...] The verb {ghuS} means both "lower (a spear) to a
horizontal position in preparation for throwing" and "prepare to launch (a
torpedo)".
KGT 64: Some spears are simply thrust into an oncoming enemy. Others are
generally thrown. The thrower first lowers the spear to a horizontal
position (the verb describing this action is {ghuS}), then hurls it with
great force ("throw" or "hurl" in this manner is {chuH}).
Related verbs:
{SaS} be horizontal
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons