[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: Qam
Steven Boozer
sboozer at uchicago.edu
Tue Nov 28 07:15:11 PST 2023
Klingon word: Qam
Part of speech: verb
Definition: stand
_______________________________________________
Qam
Stand! (PK)
yIyong 'ej pa' yIQam
Get in and stand there. (CK)
poSDaq nIHDaq je QamtaHvIS SuvwI'pu', chaH jojDaq yItnIS lopwI'
The initiate must pass through a gauntlet of warriors. (S9)
QamvIS Hegh qaq law' torvIS yIn qaq puS
Better to die on our feet than live on our knees. (ST6 & TKW)
"Dying while standing is preferable to living while kneeling." (TKW).
["The grammatical construction is a bit aberrant; one would expect {QamtaHvIS} and {tortaHvIS}. In proverbs, grammatical shortcuts are not uncommon." (TKW p.95)]
bIQtIq qa'rI'Daq pawDI' qeylIS
qojDaq Qam
bIngDaq Qo'noS botlh legh
It ends at a cliff,
Leading straight into the core
Of Kronos (PB)
["it" being the river of flame in the Kri'stak volcano. {SuqSIv} replaces {botlh} in PB2)
vIHbe’choH latlh SuvwI’pu’
bey HoS QoymeH
‘IjmeH QamtaH
The rest of the warriors stopped,
They stood and listened,
To hear the mighty howl. (PB)
pawDI' Hegh Duj DeghDaq Qam qotar When
the Barge of the Dead came, Kotar stood at its helm (PB)
jIQam; jIba’ ‘e’ qa’
I stand rather than sit. I’ll stand instead of sitting. (qep'a' 2018)
CULTURAL NOTES
(STE [1994] 124): Klingon tradition held that when a Klingon was unable to stand and face his enemies, he should choose the *Hegh'bat* [ritual suicide].
SEE ALSO:
Hu' get up (v)
tor kneel (v)
joD stoop (v)
‘ung squat (down) (v)
SIH bend (v)
Qot lie, recline (v)
ba' sit (v)
--
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.
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