[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: rItlh naQ

[Steven Boozer]

> Klingon Word of the Day for Wednesday, May 10, 2017
> 
> Klingon word: rItlh naQ
> Part of speech: noun
> Definition: pigment stick

(KGT 80-81):  What the Federation would classify as a painting - that is, a {nagh beQ} featuring an image not carved into it but painted onto it - is made by applying {rItlh} (pigment, paint, dye) derived from either an animal or plant source. This may be done either by using fingers ({nItlhDu'}) or an implement called a {rItlh naQ} (pigment stick), a stick with flattened ends. The ends (sometimes referred to as the {nItlhpachDu'} [literally, "fingernails"]) are made in assorted sizes, making it possible to produce varied patterns. No doubt because of the phonetic similarity of the words {nItlh} (finger) and {rItlh} (pigment), the practice of applying pigment with fingers, and the habit of referring to the ends of pigment sticks as {nItlhpachDu'}, a pigment stick is also often called a "nItlh naQ" (literally, "finger stick"), though this term is used almost exclusively by the artisans themselves. The word {DIj} means "use a {rItlh naQ}, paint with a {rItlh naQ}. [...] Compared to Federation Standard, Klingon terminology associated with colors is rather limited. First of all, there is no noun meaning color. There is, however, a verb, {nguv}, which means something like "be dyed, stained, tinted", though it is seldom used [...] The verb {ngoH}, meaning smear in other contexts, is used for paint using fingers.


Lieven Litaer interviewed Marc Okrand (posted 10/29/2015):

MO:   A stamp (rubber stamp, a tool/device, not postage
    stamp) is a {toqwIn}. To use a stamp, you ink it up
    and then you {Dut} it (slam [it] down). The word for
    ink is {rItlh}, and the ink pad is called {rItlh
    'echlet}. The image that results from using a rubber
    stamp is {yang}. 
LL:   When you ink it up, do you simply {Dut} it into the
    {rItlh 'echlet}?
MO:   Yes, but there is a way to say that you're applying
    ink. To "ink up" a rubber stamp is to {laS} it. This
    verb is also used to refer to putting paint on a {rItlh
    naQ}. Maltz said that there's a slang term for this
    action also: {pID}. 


SEE ALSO:
rItlh  		pigment, paint, dye, ink (n)
wuS rItlh naQ 	lipstick (n) 
rItlh 'echlet  	ink pad (n) 
ghItlhwI' 		stylus (n)

ngoH 			smear, paint using fingers (v)
DIj 			use/paint with a pigment stick (v)
laS			ink up, put paint on [something] L(v)
nguv 			be dyed/stained/tinted (v)
chum 			be colorful (v)


PUN: 
Ritz is the biggest company producing dyes for home use in the U.S.


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