[94655] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: Qu'vatlh
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steven Boozer)
Tue Sep 11 10:51:37 2012
From: Steven Boozer <sboozer@uchicago.edu>
To: "tlhingan-hol@kli.org" <tlhingan-hol@kli.org>
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2012 14:51:22 +0000
In-Reply-To: <b2a27be38f465dec96f085dd9a32eaf2@localhost.localdomain>
Errors-To: tlhingan-hol-bounces@stodi.digitalkingdom.org
> Klingon word: Qu'vatlh
> Part of speech: excl
> Definition: Klingon curse
AFAIK never used in canon. Does it - or any other curse for that matter - appear in the {paq'batlh}?
CK: This is something you might hear someone say in moments of extreme anger. Be concerned if you hear it.
TKD 178: The invective {va} is actually just a shortened form of {Qu'vatlh}.
HQ 11.3: Traffic along the interstate was particularly heavy, a topic which at some point entered into the conversation. Dr. Okrand reports that Maltz volunteered the Klingon term {Hutvagh}, a noun, meaning "too many people or things in a place all at once". Maltz further indicated that the term was used as word play, a substitution for the more common {Qu'vatlh} which might otherwise be heard in such situations.
Trek trivia:
When Picard failed to convince Governor Vagh that the Federation wasn't supplying weapons to Kriosian rebels, Vagh shouted: "You speak the lies of a *tah-keck*!" Picard calmly leaned forward and replied, "*Qu'vatlh guy'cha b'aka*!" Vagh complimented him, saying: "You swear well, Picard. You must have Klingon blood in you." (TNG "The Mind's Eye")
Etymological speculation:
"{qu'vatlh}: Klingon animal noted for stubbornness, much as the Earth mule is. ("Sons and Daughters" [DS9])" (ST:Encyclopedia [1977 ed.])
"{Qu'} is 'task', {vatlh} is 'hundred'. {Qu'vatlh}, a hundred tasks. Certainly a curse at having many things to accomplish and not enough resources to accomplish them. I personally use this one in my own job." (Kevin Geiselman)
"{Qu'} means quest or mission. {vatlh} means a hundred. So the origin of the word, centuries ago, could have been something about hundred missions. I would be really angry about so much work." (muHwI')
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
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