tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jul 13 07:31:01 2007
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Re: Klingon WOTD: DuH (verb)
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Friday, July 13, 2007.
>
>Klingon word: DuH
>Part of Speech: verb
>Definition: be possible
Used in canon:
yIntaHvIS qIrq DuHbe' roj
There will be no peace as long as Kirk lives. (ST5 notes)
Related verbs:
Synonym: {qIt} "be possible" (never used in canon).
Cf. also the suffixes {?laH} and {-law'}
>Homonyms:
> DuH (noun) - possibility, option
Hoch DuH yIqel
Consider every possibility! KGT
Cf. the idiom {Hoch nuH qel} "consider every weapon":
This is an idiom cloaked in the terminology of the military that has a
wider application. It is used to mean "Consider every possibility" or
"Consider every option," with the word {nuH} (weapon) standing metaphor-
ically for "possibility"... It is not a set phrase, so it is heard in
various forms, such as a command ({Hoch nuH yIqel!}--literally, "Consider
every weapon!" but meaning "Consider every possibility!"), question
({Hoch nuH Daqel'a'?} ["Did you consider every weapon?"]), or statement
({Hoch nuH wIqelpu'} ["We've considered every weapon"]), and it can be
negated ({Hoch nuH qelbe'} ["He/she does not consider every weapon"]).
The regular word for "possibility" is {DuH}, and, grammatically, there
is no reason it could not occur instead of {nuH} in these sentences
({Hoch DuH yIqel} ["Consider every possibility!"] is a perfectly well
formed sentence), but this is simply not the normal way to express the
advice. The use of {nuH} ("weapon") for {DuH} ("possibility") may have
been influenced by the Krotmag dialect pronunciation of {DuH} as something
very close to {nuH} ..." (KGT 108-10)]
Related nouns:
{wIv} choice; {'eb} "opportunity, chance, opening"
Antonyms: {DIch} "certainty"
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons