[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: Degh

[Steven Boozer]

Klingon word: Degh
Part of speech: noun
Definition: helm
_______________________________________________

pawDI' Hegh Duj DeghDaq Qam qotar 
When the Barge of the Dead came, Kotar stood at its helm (PB)

Illustrated on the BoP poster.

(HQ 11.2):  In general, {'or} ["operate (an aircraft), pilot"] would not be used to refer to the activities of the captain of a spacecraft, or even those of its helmsman, but Maltz said it could be used for the controlling of a shuttlecraft. 

SEE:
Degh  		take action without a plan, improvise (slang vb.) 
DeghwI'  	helmsman (n)

(KGT 149-50):  There is no known verb {Degh}, but if there were such a word, presumably it would mean steer, and {DeghwI'}, then, would be literally "one who steers", formed from {Degh} plus the suffix {-wI'} ("one who does [something]"). There is a related noun {Degh} (helm), but since {-wI'} follows only verbs, there must have been a verb {Degh} at one time that has fallen out of use, at least in the sense of steer. It is the absence of a verb {Degh} from the standard vocabulary that makes this term slang and that also allows it to have a specialized meaning: not steer in the usual sense of guiding a vessel along a set course or defined path but rather in the sense of maneuvering without a plan, without a set course or path. In the standard vocabulary, there is no single word equivalent meaning improvise or the like, but the idea can be expressed in a phrase such as {nab Hutlh 'ach vang} ("He/she lacks a plan, but he/she takes action").

N.B. Do not confuse with the noun {Degh} "medal, emblem, symbol, insignia, marking, mark".

--
Voragh, Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
    Please contribute relevant vocabulary from recent qep’a’mey 
    or qepHommey. I’ve fallen woefully behind in updating my files.