[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: Qur

[Steven Boozer]

> Klingon Word of the Day for Wednesday, August 24, 2016
> 
> Klingon word: Qur
> Part of speech: noun
> Definition: structure, organization, anatomy
> Source: qepHom 2011, Email from Marc Okrand of 25 October 2011


(MO to Lieven, 10/25/2011):  I asked him about Morskan {qurbuSwI'} [architect]. He said he wasn't really all that familiar with Morskan, but then he thought about it a little more and said he did know a word {Qur} that might be related, though it was difficult to translate. The best he could come up with was "structure" or "organization". He was quick to point out that this did not mean structure like a building is a structure, nor did it mean organization like an organization of people or even an organization of states. It means the way things fit together or the arrangement of the parts of something bigger. He said it could be used for anatomy when talking about animals. Though he looked a little pained when I suggested it, he agreed that one could say that Scotty understood the {Qur} of the Enterprise." 


SEE ALSO:
patlh 		rank, level, layer, standing (n)
pat 			system, grid (n)
tlham  		order, structure (societal) (slang) (n)
 
(KGT 165):  The word {tlham}, literally meaning "gravity", is used to mean order or structure in the sense of an ordered or well-structured society. In the same way that gravity holds one to a planet (or, in the case of artificial gravity, to the floor of a space vessel), the structure of a society holds its members in, preventing them from going off in all directions. In other words, it ensures that a society function properly by keeping it from coming apart. The word is used in phrases such as {tlham ghaj} ("have gravity"--that is, have structure, order) or {tlham Hutlh} ("lack gravity" or lack structure, order). A very well ordered society may be said to have {tlham'a'} (big gravity) or {tlham HoS} (strong gravity), while a society that is judged to be falling apart may have {tlhamHom} (little gravity) or {tlham puj} (weak gravity).

(KGT 110-11):  [{qutluch patlh}] means "hierarchical structure". The *kut'luch* is a knife associated with Klingon assassins, so the imagery is one of a list, presumably in a specific order, of intended victims of the *kut'luch*. To determine one's place in Klingon society or to understand who has authority over whom, one must be aware of the {qutluch patlh} of the military, the government, the house with which one is associated, and so on.



--
Voragh
tlhIngan ghantoH pIn'a'
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons