tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jan 27 07:25:08 2014

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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] geometry terminology in Klingon

Steven Boozer ([email protected])



De'vId, thanks for passing these along.  IIRC the only words for basic shapes we've had before were {moQ} sphere, {gho} circle, {meyrI'} square, and (possibly) {tlhegh} line.  Can anyone think of any others?

De'vID wrote:
> This following comes from Maltz (edited for format only - the original
> mail had HTML formatting):
 
> polygon - mey'

Deconstructing {meyrI'} "square".

>   triangle - ra'Duch
>     equilateral triangle - ra'Duch tIQ

Hmm... an "ancient triangle".

>     isosceles triangle - ra'Duch quv  or  vayya'
>   quadrilateral - loS reD mey'
>     square - meyrI'
>     rectangle - letbaQ
>   pentagon - vagh reD mey'

Note the use of {reD}:  {loS/vagh reD mey'} a "four/five wall polygon.  We also had {Dop} "side", so I'm not sure how this is different.  (I wonder if {reD} "exterior wall" and {tlhoy'} "interior wall" can be used for exterior and interior surfaces of 3-dimensional shapes?)  

> star (not in sky) - DujtlhuQ
> 
> pyramid - 'Impey'
>   three-sided base - qu'vu'
>   four-sided base - loS reD 'Impey'
>   five-sided base - vagh reD 'Impey'
> cone - gho 'Impey'

pun:  the Great Pyramid of (pharaoh) Khufu at Giza!

I'm sure there's a pyramid-related pun for {'Impey'} too, but I can't think of it at the moment.
 
> cube - buq'Ir

Cf. {buq} "pouch, bag, sack, pocket"

> prism (three-sided base) - ra'Duch tut
> cylinder - gho tut

Using {tut} "column, post".

Other geometrically related words - BTW did Okrand say how to refer to "geometry" itself? - include {Dop} side, {tajvaj} angle, {wan} be straight, {wanHa' be crooked/bent (also curved??), and {tIq} be long/lengthy as well as the various measurement-related words.

Knowing Okrand, I'm sure there are more puns.  Anyone?


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons



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