tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Feb 13 10:33:09 2004
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Re: Klingon WOTD: qa' (n)
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Friday, February 13, 2004.
>
>Klingon word: qa'
>Part of Speech: noun
>Definition: spirit
As used in canon (and elsewhere):
SoHDaq qeylIS qa' yInjaj!
May the spirit of Kahless live within you! PK
"You truly have the spirit of Kahless within you!"
(Martok to Worf, DS9 "By Inferno's Light")
ghe'torvo' narghDI' qa'pu'
when spirits escape from Gre'thor KGT
According to mythology, when a dishonored Klingon dies, his or her
spirit goes to a place called Gre'thor, there to remain. To speak
of spirits escaping from Gre'thor is to speak of an impossibility.
The phrase usually follows the statement of what it is that
supposedly cannot happen: {jIjegh ghe'torvo' narghDI' qa'pu'} ("I
will surrender when spirits escape from Gre'thor"). Note that the
word for spirit, {qa'}, takes the plural suffix {-pu'}, which is
used for beings capable of using language. Spirits do speak."
(KGT 117)
the plural of {Qun} ["god, supernatural being"] is {Qunpu'} since
they are or were presumably capable of using language, which is
what the plural suffix {-pu'} implies ... {Qunpu'} are distinct
from {qa'pu'} "spirits" (such as the spirits of the dishonored
dead which reside at Gre'thor). (st.klingon 7/19/1999)
qa' wIje'meH maSuv.
We fight to enrich the spirit.
(lit. "We fight in order to feed the spirit.") TKW
HeghDI' SuvwI' nargh SuvwI' qa'
When a warrior dies, his spirit escapes. TKW
narghbe'chugh SuvwI' qa' taH may'
If the warrior's spirit has not escaped, the battle is still going on. TKW
qaSDI' nenghep, qa' patlh chu' chav tlhIngan SuvwI'
The Age of Ascension marks a new level of spiritual attainment by a Klingon
warrior. S9
SuvwI' qa' patlh veb chavlaHmeH tlhIngan lo'chu' chaH. toDujDaj toblu'
[They] use the devices [painstiks] to inflict pain in a manner which will
allow the Klingon to attain a higher state of spirituality as a warrior,
proving his mettle. S32
According to Klingon legend, when honed sharp enough [a bat'leth]
can separate a man from his soul. (STC:KLS)
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons