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Klingon WOTD: nan (verb)

speersd ([email protected])



This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Sunday, August 26, 2007.

Category: General

Klingon word:   nan
Part of Speech: verb 
Definition:     gouge 
Source: KGT (220 KE, 244 EK) 
Swedish: holka ur, gröpa ur, gräva ur


Additional Notes:
KGT p. 79.  Statues are carved out of stone ({nagh}, "rock, stone") by various techniques.  Thus, among other things, the sculptor ({Hew chenmoHwI'} [lliterally, "statue creator"]) may {nan} ("gouge"), {tey} ("scrape"), or {ghItlh} ("engrave").  To apply these techniques, specialized tools are employed: the {nanwI'} ("chisel"; literally, "gouger"), {teywI'} ("file"; literally, "scaper"), and {ghItlhwI'} ("stylus").  The word {ghItlhwI'} (literally, "engraver") is also used for any writing implement as well as for any person who writes.  Indeed, the verb {ghItlh} is most commonly translated as "write," but it always refers to the act of writing--that is, of making marks on some surface--not to the act of composition.  Its use in the contexts of both sculpting and writing suggests that writing began as carving.  In addition to the specialized tools, any blade ({'etlh}), even if designed for other purposes, may be used as a sculpting tool.  Kahless himself is said to have used his [bat'leth], the original "Sword of Honor," to carve a statue for the woman he loved, presumably Lukara.
   
Homonyms:
	nan (noun) - a particularly effective martial arts move
	nan (verb) - use the fourth toe


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