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

[Steven Boozer]

Klingon Word of the Day for Sunday, October 13, 2019

Klingon word: nelchu'
Part of speech: verb
Definition: fit in perfectly, fit perfectly
Source: qepHom 2018
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(Lieven, qepHom 2018):  ... like a piece in a jigsaw puzzle

SEE:
nel  		match,  pair up,  map onto (v) (qep'a' 2018)

(Lieven, qep'a' 2018):  ... like when fingerprints match

(Lieven < MO, 12/02/2018):  {nel} is a verb and means to match up. It does not mean that two things are identical, it means that they match up, such as two pieces of a puzzle match or when you tear off a piece of paper, this is the only piece that will match up with the paper. 

(Lieven, 11/21/2018):  BACKGROUND:  At the qepHom, we played the game where you have to find two matching cards. (In German, we call that "memory", but Okrand told me that in English it's called "concentration".) I wanted to call the game something like {nelwI'} or {tInelmoH}, which Okrand rejected both, as it sounds strange. … So I labeled the game with {chang'engmey}.

(MO, qepHom 2018):  As for {nel} - The more I think about it, {tInel} is not so good. But {tInelmoH} is not so good either. You are correct - {nel} works like {rur}. So you can say {A nel B} "B matches A". You can also say {nelchuq A B je} "A and B match each other". When you say {tInel}, the subject (unspoken, because it's an imperative) is "you," but what is the object? 
    If you say {A yInel}, the subject is "you" and the object, presumably, is A, but this would mean something like "Match A!" (that is, it's a command for you to match A or match up with A).  Similarly, {A B je tInel} is a command for you to be a match with both A and B.
    Let's look at the construction if imperative is not involved (and let's switch to singular). What would {Danel} mean?  {A Danel} is something like "you match A".  {A B je Danel} is "you match both A and B" (that is, you are a match with A and you are also a match with B). That's not what we're trying to say.
    So how about {nelmoH}?  {A DanelmoH} might mean "you cause A to match", but match what?  {A B je DanelmoH} might mean "you cause A and B to match", but that doesn't mean A and B are matching each other - it means you cause A and B to match something else - but what?
    The problem is that {nel} takes a subject and an object (the two things that match each other), but not a third thing. And you can't use the prefix trick with {nelmoH} because there is no non-third-person indirect object.
    So to give the command "Make A match B!", you have to do it periphrastically.

(De'vID < MO, 1/22/2019):   {qoch} is not the word for partner when referring to socks and gloves and the like.  The word for that is {nelwI'}. With {nel}, the subject is one sock (or glove or shoe or whatever) of the pair and the object is the other. To talk about a sock (or glove or …) matching (that is fitting onto) a foot (or hand or …), use the verb {mey}:  {mumey waqmeywIj} my shoes fit (literally, "my shoes fit me"). {torgh lumey waqmey} "the shoes fit Torg".  {waqmeywIj vImey} "I fit my shoes".
    When a piece of a jigsaw puzzle fits into the right spot, you can say:  {Qay'mol mey (Qay'mol) teSra'} "the (puzzle) piece fits (into) the puzzle".  (In this context, you don't have to repeat {Qay'mol}, but it's fine if you do.) or {nelchu' Qay'mol teSra'} "the puzzle piece fits perfectly".  The first focuses on the interlocking of the pieces; the second focuses on the piece in question occupying the identically shaped space where it goes.

SEE ALSO:
rur  		resemble (v)
nIb 		be identical (v)
rap 		be the same (v)

pIm 		be different (v)
Sar 		be varied, various (v)

--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons