[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: Haq

[Steven Boozer]

Klingon Word of the Day for Wednesday, January 05, 2022

Klingon word: 	Haq
Part of speech: 	noun
Definition: 	surgery
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AFAIK there aren't any examples of the noun in canon.

SEE:
Haqtaj 		scalpel (n)

Haq  		perform surgery (on) (v)
  - jagh HIvrup SuvwI' Haqpa' DIvI' qeSwI' 
    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. 

Haq 		intervene in (a situation) (slang vb.) 
  - jagh HIvrup SuvwI' Haqpa' DIvI' qeSwI' 
    The warrior was prepared to attack the enemy until the 
      Federation advisor performed intervenes. [slang] (KGT)

(KGT 151):  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 connotation, 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}.

PUN: "hack"!

SEE ALSO:
QID 		wound (someone) (v)
pe’ 		cut (v)
regh 		bleed (v)
taq 		be scarred (v)
taqmoH 	scar (v)

'Iw		blood (n)
roptoj 		type of scar (n)
mIvwa' 		type of scar (n)
SanDIy 		type of scar (n)

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

--
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.