tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Apr 16 09:29:07 2007
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Re: Klingon WOTD: Dun (verb)
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Saturday, April 14, 2007.
>
>Klingon word: Dun
>Part of Speech: verb
>Definition: be wonderful, great
Used in canon:
qIbDaq SuvwI''e' SoH Dun law' Hoch Dun puS
You would be the greatest warrior in the galaxy. ST5
ta'mey Dun, bommey Dun.
Great deeds, great songs. TKW
maDun
We are wonderful. KLS
toH, SomrawDu' Dunqu'
Oh, what wonderful muscles! (ST5 DVD, extra "making of" feature)
Discussed by Okrand:
The slang usage of {qu'} is currently extremely common among
Klingons, and it has pretty much displaced another slang term
with the same set of meanings ("excellent, wonderful, etc."),
{Huv} (literally, "be clear, not obstructed"), which was in
vogue not all that long ago. The use of {Huv} for "excellent"
is now considered old-fashioned. This is also the case with
{nong} ("passionate"), an even older slang term for "excellent".
(As of this writing, the slang usage of {nong} seems to be making
a comeback, but it is still too early to say whether this will
really happen.) Nonslang verbs expressing similar ideas are {Dun}
("be wonderful, great"), {pov} ("be excellent") (KGT 159-61)
Other related verbs:
{Doj} be impressive; {noy} be famous/well known; {nIv} be superior; {tIn}
be big/large
See also the noun suffixes {-'a'} (e.g. {SuvwI''a'} a great warrior) and
{-na'} "definite, true, real".
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons