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

[Steven Boozer]

Klingon Word of the Day for Monday, February 07, 2022

Klingon word: 	'ey
Part of speech: 	verb
Definition: 	be good, be delicious, be tasty, be harmonious
_______________________________________________

'ey Soj 
The food is delicious. (KGT)

Soj 'ey
delicious food (KGT)

'ey bom 
The song is "delicious" (i.e. good) (KGT)

'ey ro'qegh'Iwchab, rap qagh 
the qagh is as delicious as the rokeg blood pie  (HQ 13.1)

ro'qegh'Iwchab 'ey law' qagh 'ey law' 
the rokeg blood pie is as delicious as the gagh  (HQ 13.1)

CULTURE NOTES:
(KGT 84):  Well-prepared food is described as {'ey} ("delicious"), the word also used to describe good music:  {'ey Soj} ("The food is delicious");  {Soj 'ey} ("delicious food").  Food also resembles music in that if it affects one in an especially positive way--that is, if the food particularly satisfies the eater--one may say {DuQ Soj} ("The food stabs him/her").

(KGT 71f.):  Another common way to say that a specific piece or performance of music has a particularly strong effect on a listener is to employ the verb {DuQ} (literally, "stab"):  {muDuQ bom} ("The song stabs me", or, in a more colloquial Federation Standard form, "The song moves me").  If the music is judged positively--that is, if the listener likes it--the music is said to be {'ey}, using the word normally translated as "delicious" when talking about food.  Rendering {'ey bom} as "The song is good" is acceptable, but it fails to capture the real feeling of the Klingon.

(KGT 84):  All food is considered to be good in its natural state; it takes the intervention of a cook to ruin it.  Thus, the word {'eyHa'}, used to describe food that is edible but is not particularly tasty, means something like "undelicious", implying that someone caused it to cease being delicious.  For food that has been prepared particularly poorly, it is not uncommon to hear {Soj raghmoHlu'pu'} ("The food has been decayed" or "Someone has caused the food to decay") or the more pointed {Soj DaraghmoHpu'} ("You have caused the food to decay"), even though the food has not literally decayed.  On the other hand, one may simply use the word {'up} ("disgusting, repugnant")

TREK TRIVIA:
   Riker scrambled some Owon eggs he had acquired at Starbase 37.  Although the humans thought them disgusting, Worf proclaimed them “delicious”.  (TNG “Time Squared”)

--
Voragh, Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
    Please contribute relevant vocabulary or notes from the last 
    year or two. I’ve fallen woefully behind in updating my files.