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

[Steven Boozer]

Klingon word: 	mIvwa'
Part of speech: 	noun
Definition: scar (result of a wound, regardless of how the wound occurred); score, tally
Source: 	qep'a' 24 [2017]; qep'a' 25 [2018]
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lIr'el, Du'arghHa'moH mIvwa'. 
The scar is an improvement, L'Rell. (DSC "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" NON-CANON)

loSlogh pe’’egh; vaghlogh nID 
[score four out of five times] 
("cut oneself four times; tried five times" (De'vID < MO, 2/17/2018)

(qep'a' 2017):  So if you have a scar that you got in a fight, that could be either a {mIvwa'} or a {SanDIy}. If you don't know whether someone's scar resulted from a wound or a disease, it's probably safest to go with {mIvwa'}. If the person's scar is actually a {SanDIy}, he/she will, under most circumstances, clarify this for you. If it's a {roptoj}, he/she may let the 'misdiagnosis' slide since, as we all know, {ropchoHbe' tlhInganpu'}. 

(De'vID < MO, 2/17/2018):  The traditional/old Klingon way of keeping score involves cutting oneself ({pe’’egh}), and this is the term still in use. A tally or (total) score follows the same tradition. They say {mIvwa’mey}, literally "scars" (even though, in traditional scorekeeping, the cuts turn to scabs and eventually go away). This term is also used for  census or  headcount. Out of is awkward. {loSlogh pe’’egh; vaghlogh nID} "cut oneself four times; tried five times". This is the construction even if the person stopped after four and didn’t really attempt the fifth. Maltz wasn’t sure how statistics would be distinguished from tally in this context, but maybe {mIvwa’mey poj} "tally analysis" or {mI’ poj} "number analysis" would work.

SEE ALSO:
SanDIy 		scar [result of wound received in fight/battle] (n)
roptoj		scar [result of some sort of disease, infection, etc.] (n)
Hampong DIr 	scab (n)

taq 		be scarred (v)
taqmoH 	scar (v)
pe' 		cut (v)
Haq 		perform surgery [on] (v)
QID 		wound [someone] (v)

--
Voragh, Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
    Please contribute relevant vocabulary from the last year or two. I’ve fallen 
    behind in updating my files and adding cross-references for related words.