[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: qutluch

[Steven Boozer]

Klingon word: qutluch
Part of speech: noun
Definition: hand weapon (type of)
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reH boch qutluch lo'lu'bogh 
The used kut'luch is always shiny. TKW 

(TKW 103):  The kut'luch... is a hand-held blade described as the ceremonial weapon of an assassin... The use of the kut'luch by assassins does not mean the weapon is used by no one else, nor does it mean that assassins never use other weapons. The way the weapon is used for ritual is utterly obscure...

(KGT 61f):  The {qutluch}, or kut'luch in its usual Federation Standard spelling, is a knife associated with Klingon assassins. It has a serrated blade ({Ho' 'etlh} [literally, "tooth blade"]), so it is particularly lethal.

  Worf may have used a {qutluch} when he attempted suicide after being driven to despair by lack of REM sleep while the Enterprise-D was caught in a Tyken's Rift: he removed a slightly curved knife with a serrated edge and a prong tip from a padded box, then poured a special liquid over the tip in an apparent ritual before raising the knife to plunge into his chest. (TNG "Night Terrors").  This was the same knife Worf wanted to use for the {Hegh'bat} after he suffered a severe spinal injury in 2368 (TNG "Ethics").

  The knife that K'mtar/Alexander supplied the assassins he hired to stage an assassination attempt on Worf at the Kot'baval Festival at the Maranga IV outpost may have been a {qutluch}; it bore the crest of the House of Duras as well as symbols representing Lursa, B'Etor and Lursa's as-yet-unborn son. (TNG "Firstborn")

SEE:
qutluch patlh 		 kut'luch rank (n)

(KGT 110f):   This phrase 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.

(KGT 38):  The Klingon military, of course, has a hierarchical structure of its own, with ranks and areas of authority spelled out explicitly.

(KGT 51f):  Accordingly, when dealing with a troop member (QaS) or officer (yaS) of a ship, to avoid giving offense, one should either find out ahead of time how that ship fits into the hierarchical structure or else carefully avoid making references to other units as superior or inferior.

qutluch tay  		Kut'luch Ceremony (n) KGT

(KGT 61f):  The {qutluch} ... is also used in a ritual to which it gives its name, the {qutluch tay} ("Kut'luch Ceremony"), during which, as a demonstration of courage, a young Klingon preparing to be a warrior attacks someone and actually draws blood for the first time. For Klingons, bloodletting is a usual and expected part of a warrior's training regimen.

  The Doctor's holo-son Jeffrey was planning on performing the Kut’luch Ceremony (ritual shedding of a random stranger’s blood) prior to his Rite of Ascension with the help of his two teenage Klingon friends. The knife shown and identified as a kut’luch did not have a serrated edge, but did have a split blade. (VOY "Real Life")

SEE ALSO:
taj  			knife,  dagger (n)
tajHom  		(little) blade [in the handle of a d'k tahg] (n)
'etlh  			sword (TKD);  blade (of any kind)  (KGT)
ret'aq 			handle, hilt (of knife) (n)
vaH  			sheath,  knife case, holster (n)

--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons