[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: wov'on

[Steven Boozer]

Klingon word: wov'on
Part of speech: noun
Definition: memory, recollection
Source: Email from Lieven 2018-02-06
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(Lieven < MO, 2/05/2018):   We've got {qawHaq} "memory banks".  Maltz didn't know what {Haq} in this word was.  (He said it has nothing to do with surgery - that's just a coincidence.)  But {qaw}, he said, is a perfectly fine noun meaning "memory" in the sense of the ability to remember or the power of recall.  It does not refer to specific memories or recollections.  That's a different word: {wov'on}.  It's more common to hear {wov'on qaw} "he/she remembers a memory" than {wov'on ghaj} "he/she has a memory", though the colloquial (English) translation of the former would be "he/she has a memory".  Someone who remembers a lot of stuff or who can easily remember things (like dates or lines of a play) may be said to have a {qaw pov} "excellent memory".

(KGT 101f.):  When taking a table's order, the {jabwI'} [server] neither writes anything down nor enters data into a computer.  It is considered the duty of the {jabwI'} to remember ({qaw}) the choices and to bring the correct food, and servers tend to be quite skilled at this.  On the rare occasion when the {jabwI'} has remembered incorrectly ({qawHa'}), the patron may reject ({lajQo'}) the dish.  If the patron rejects a dish that the server believes has been properly remembered, however, the misunderstanding could develop into minor combat.

SEE ALSO:
qaw		remember (v)
ghov 		recognize (v)
Sov 		know (v)
lIj 		forget (v)


--
Voragh
tlhIngan nompuq pIn'a'