tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Mar 17 09:09:47 2008

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Re: Klingon WOTD: qum (noun)

Steven Boozer ([email protected])



>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Monday, March 17, 2008.
>
>Klingon word:   qum
>Part of Speech: noun
>Definition:     government

Used in canon:

pa' 'oHtaH vaS'a''e'.  tlhIngan qum waw' 'oH.
This is where the Klingon Great Hall is located, the center of the Klingon 
government. S27

KGT 51:  The entirety of a government's military apparatus is its {QI'}, 
usually translated simply as "military".

KGT 111:  To determine one's place in Klingon society or to understand who 
has authority over whom, one must be aware of the {qutluch patlh} of the 
military, the government, the house with which one is associated, and so on.

KGT 183:  the Order of the Bat'leth ({betleH 'obe'}), the highest honor 
that the government bestows on a Klingon

KGT 157:  Literally meaning "cape", this slang term is an example of 
metonymy, whereby one word (or phrase) stands for another with which it is 
associated. In this case, the leader of the Klingon High Council typically 
wears a ceremonial cape. The slang sense of {ngup} does not refer only to 
this position on the High Council, however, but to anyone in power or even 
to "the power structure." Someone unsatisfied with the status quo, a rebel, 
might be said to want to {ngup qaD} ("challenge those in charge"; 
literally, "challenge the cape"). Nonslang equivalents of {ngup} are {woQ} 
("authority, political power") and {qum} ("government").

More related nouns:

{loH} administration;  {HI'tuy} dictatorship

>Homonyms:
>     qum (verb) - govern

Never used in canon.

Related verbs:

{che'} rule;  {ghatlh} dominate; {vu'} manage;  {loH} administer

Cf. {lu} "fall from power"; {gheS} "assume duties of, take on 
responsibilities";  {Sugh} "install (in office)";  {cho'} "succeed (to 
authority)"

The nomen agentis of {qum} is {qumwI'} "governor":

"I am Kor, military governor of Organia." (TOS "Errand of Mercy")
"Secure in his power as military governor of Organia, Kor gloats over his 
captive." (TKW 118 ill.)



--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons






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