[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: Qom

[Steven Boozer]

Klingon word: Qom
Part of speech: verb
Definition: experience an earthquake or tremor
Source: TKD
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Qom Qu' 
The mission experiences a tremor. KGT

Qom He 
The route experiences a tremor. KGT

Qompu' Duj 
The ship has experienced a tremor. KGT

Qombe'!  nISbe' jevwI', 'ej not ruS baq. 
That looks on tempests and is never shaken. 
[lit. "It does not tremble! The storm does not disrupt it, and it never terminates the bond."] (Sonnet 116)

jachtaHvIS je chal luSIch beychaj | 'ej Qo'noS yav luQommoH 
They too started to shout to the heavens ... Their howls made Kronos's soil tremble. (PB) 

(qep'a' 2017?):  [{jel} "shake"] as in "the buildings are shaking because there's an earthquake", or "everything in the house shakes when you slam the door", or "I'm nervous or afraid so I'm shaking" (Klingons have never experienced this, but they've seen it in others)

TREK NOTES:
   Minara II entered a critical stage prior to its sun going nova in 2268: periods of intense solar flare activity were accompanied by earthquakes. (TOS "The Empath")

SISKO:     The quakes are only a minor side effect. The real goal of this project is to
                  have these lasers of mine produce massive fissures in the Earth's crust, 
                  releasing millions of tons of molten lava. Now, Mister Merriweather, you're
                  the geologist. Tell me what happens next. 
BASHIR:  Once that much lava is released, the tectonic plates would begin to settle. 
SISKO:     And the surface of the planet will shrink, just like letting air out of a balloon. 
KIRA:       But if the surface of the Earth shrinks, the oceans 
BASHIR:  Will cover the Earth. Diabolical. 
SISKO:     Visionary!  [DS9 "Our Man Bashir"]

SEE:
Qom  		be hazardous, perilous, treacherous (slang vb.) 

(KGT 162-63):  The word {Qom} literally means experience a tremor or, using an old Terran phrase, experience an earthquake.  The word is used in its slang sense of perilous, treacherous when applied to a mission or voyage.  For example, {Qom Qu'} (literally, "The mission experiences a tremor") means "The mission is perilous".  Likewise, {Qom He} (literally, "The route experiences a tremor") generally means "The route is treacherous", implying that the journey is treacherous.  The word can also be applied to the state of a structure or a vessel following a disastrous encounter, though in this case the verb usually takes the perfective suffix {-pu'}, indicating that the action has been completed.  Thus, {Qompu' Duj} (literally, "The ship has experienced a tremor") may be used to mean "The ship is hazardous, has been left in a hazardous condition".  The fact that in the Krotmag dialect ... the word {Qob} (be dangerous) would be pronounced {Qom} is probably not unrelated to the origin of the idiomatic usage of {Qom}, though the basic meaning of {Qom} itself certainly carries with it the notion of potential danger.  Note that despite its slang meaning of "be hazardous, treacherous", the way the verb is used grammatically is based on its standard, literal sense.  That is, while it is acceptable to say {He Qob} ("dangerous route"), using {Qob} (be dangerous) adjectivally, it is ungrammatical to say {He Qom} ("perilous route").  The verb {Qom} still means "experience a tremor" and must be used in a grammatical structure appropriate to that meaning.

TREK NOTES:
(KGT 162 ill.):  "Trafficking with the Romulans shows that B'Etor's ... mission will be {Qom}." 

SEE ALSO:
joq 		flap, flutter, beat (v)
tav 		shake (v)
wal 		vibrate (v)

Seq 		fault (n)
Qargh 		fissure (n)
*botlhQuv 	epicenter (n) (suggested by qhunchu'wI')
DI 		litter, rubble, debris (n)
pIgh 		ruins (n)

Hung 		security (n)
lIb 		be impending, imminent, loom (v)

--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons