[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: HaqwI'

[Steven Boozer]

Klingon word: HaqwI'
Part of speech: noun
Definition: surgeon
Source: ADD
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HaqwI''e' DaH yISam 
Find the SURGEON now!  (TKD)

jagh HIvrup SuvwI' Haqpa' DIvI' qeSwI' 
The warrior was prepared to attack the enemy until the Federation
   advisor intervened.
(lit. "The warrior was prepared to attack the enemy until the Federation
   advisor performed surgery."] (KGT)

(KGT 151):  The word {Haq} actually means "perform surgery on (someone)". Even though Klingon doctors generally have thriving practices and a doctor is always part of a ship's crew, not only is being under a doctor's care considered a sign of weakness, but it is also regarded as a relinquishing of self-control. Klingons tend to avoid visiting doctors except under the most serious of circumstances and, as a result, doctors spend a great deal of their time tending to critically wounded patients and relatively little time performing routine examinations or practicing preventive medicine. The general term for doctor or physician is {Qel}, but a surgeon, a doctor who actually manipulates the internal organs or bones of the patient and thereby is the most invasive, is a {HaqwI'}, "one who performs surgery". The slang term {Haq} developed from the association of surgery with invasion of the person, hence intervene. Just as {Haq} in the nonslang sense of "perform surgery" has negative connotations, the slang term {Haq} (intervene) is likewise disparaging, implying that the intervention was unnecessary and/or that the party doing the intervening somehow handled the situation badly. Thus, if one were to say {jagh HIvrup SuvwI' Haqpa' DIvI' qeSwI'} ("The warrior was prepared to attack the enemy until the Federation advisor intervened" - literally, "The warrior was prepared to attack the enemy until the Federation advisor performed surgery"), the implication is that the advice was unnecessary, counterproductive, or both. The common {nonslang} term for intervene is {mun}. 

(BoP Haynes Manual, p.107):  The surgeon typically injects a combined stimulant and pain killer, before using a {petqaD} to bond broken bones in place and a dermal regenerator to suture any wounds. Typical turnaround times allow an injured crewman to return to his post within seven minutes.

TREK TRIVIA:

"They say that the doctor who operates on himself has a *p'tak* for a patient."  (B'Elanna, VOY "Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy")

In Starfleet, starship surgeon is another term for senior medical officer. (cf. TOS "The Ultimate Computer")

PUN:  "hack"

SEE:
Haq  		perform surgery (on) (v)
Haq  		intervene in (a situation) (v) (slang) 
Haq  		surgery (n)
Haqtaj  		scalpel (n) 
   'uD Haqtaj 	   laser scalpel (n)

SEE ALSO:
SID  		patient (n) 
SIjwI' 		slitter [a knife used for food preparation] (n)
ghonDoq 	a slender-bladed knife (n)
petqaD 		bone-mender (n)
Sev 		bandage  (n)
mIvwa' 		scar (result of a wound, regardless of how the wound occurred) (n)
SanDIy 		scar (result of a wound received in the course of fighting/battling) (n) 

pe' 		cut (v)
taq 		be scarred (v)
taqmoH  	scar (v)
nIS 		interfere with (v)
'oD 		arbitrate, mediate (v)

--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons