tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jan 29 11:30:06 2001
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Re: Klingon WOTD: leSSov (n)
>> Klingon word: leSSov
>> Part of Speech: noun
>> Definition: forsight
quljIb:
: *groan* This must be the worst pun I've ever seen.
Voragh:
> nuqjatlh? I don't see it. The word for "four" is {loS} not {leS},
> which is a bound morpheme meaning "days from now" - e.g. {wa'leS}
> tomorrow, {cha'leS day} after tomorrow, etc. - plus {Sov} "knowledge".
> Thus {leSSov} is "fore-knowledge" or "knowledge from now" (i.e. from the
> future).
quljIb:
: All true. But the {leS} so close to {Sov} fools the eye into thinking
: {loS}. Plus, there's a word association between 'foresight' and
: 'four-sight'.
Ah, I get it now; it's a visual/spelling pun. Though "sight" has nothing to do
with. In Klingon it seems that this involves knowing something in advance, not
seeing it (as in a vision).
: As to {Hu'Sov} 'hindsight', that begs the question: would a word like
: {benSov} 'ancient knowledge' (lit. 'knowledge from years ago') be
: considered valid?
Since neither are from Okrand, I suppose they would be equally valid or
invalid, depending on your point of view. Neither of which should be confused
with
nIb'poH - *{nIbpoH}? - deją vu, the feeling that an action has occurred
before. (The Paramount spelling *nIb'poH* appears in the ST Encyclopedia and
in KGT, although Okrand failed to provide a tlhIngan Hol spelling.)
Since {leSSov} has never been used by Okrand, I'm not sure exactly how to use
it. I suppose the easiest way is with {-mo'}:
ghawran Qang leSSovmo' nabmo' je tagha' romuluSngan yo' wImerlaH.
Due to Chancellor Gowron's foresight and planning, we were finally
able to surprise the Romulan fleet.
and the same, I would assume, for *{Hu'Sov} (that is, if it's legit):
Hu'Sovmo' romuluSngan Duy chaHba' DuraS be'nI'pu''e'.
In hindsight it was obvious that the Duras sisters were Romulan
agents.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons