[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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