tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jan 27 08:42:50 2006
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Re: Klingon WOTD: QIn (noun)
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Sunday, January 22, 2006.
>
>Klingon word: QIn
>Part of Speech: noun
>Definition: message
Possible canon:
Qugh la'vaD QIn pav.
[Urgent message for Commander Kruge.] (ST3 DVD case)
[There's a bit more on the DVD case. Does anybody know whether Okrand
supplied the text?]
Discussed by Okrand:
Finally, though not connected to weaponry, the word {QIn}
means not only "spearhead" but also "message". In this
case, it is not clear which came first. Perhaps the spear-
head was always thought of as the message being delivered
by the spear or spear wielder. (KGT 65)
[Or perhaps messages used to be tied to spears, which could be thrown over
battle lines, into or out of besieged cities, etc.?]
One might also say {QIn gher} "he/she formulates a message"
or, more colloquially, "he/she writes a message". But now
it begins to get tricky. Using {gher} here implies that the
writer of the message was passing along some information he
or she got elsewhere, such as scribbling down a telephone
message. Saying {QIn qon} "he/she composes a message" or
"he/she writes a message" (literally "he/she records a
message") suggests that the writer is presenting some new
information as opposed to merely passing something along.
It may also imply that the written message has some sort of
literary merit, and thus be a compliment. (st.klingon)
Related nouns include {De'} "data, information", {jabbI'ID} "data
transmission" and {ghItlh} "manuscript".
>Homonyms:
> QIn (noun) - spearhead
The shaft of a spear is the {tIH}; the sharp tip or spearhead
is the {QIn}. As might be expected, there are a great many
different types of {QInmey} (the plural form of {QIn}). A
plain spearhead, one that is simply a sharp point, is a {QIn
pup} ("perfect spearhead"). A tip with multiple points is a
{QIn vagh} ("spearhead number five"), though this is a bit odd
because there may be any number of points and no other spear-
heads are named with numbers. A spearhead that is barbed is a
{SeDveq}, a word with unknown etymological origins and otherwise
unused. (KGT 64)
the sharp end of a spear is the {QIn}... When shown a pencil,
Maltz said that the sharp end could be called a {QIn}, but if
the pencil were new and did not yet have a point, the ready-to-
be-sharpened end would be a {megh'an} or {'er'In}. (HQ 12.2:7)
Related nouns include {chonnaq} or {naQjej} "hunting spear", {ghIntaq}
"battle spear", {chetvI'} "spear-throwing device" (i.e. a stick with a hook
at the end as an aid for throwing" or an atlatl) and {tlhevjaQ} "spear used
in the {chetvI'}".
Use the verb {chuH} "throw (a spear)" for regular spears, but for the
{chetvI'} and {tlhevjaQ} there's also a special verb {wob} which describes
"the full range of activities involved in putting the spear properly into
the spear-throwing aid and using the aid to hurl the spear" (KGT 64f.).
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons