[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: la'yIgh (noun)

[Steven Boozer]

Klingon word: la'yIgh
Part of speech: noun
Definition: spice
Source: qepHom 2021
_______________________________________________

(qepHom 2021): Assuming the requested word "spice" is a noun, and assuming it refers to all or any of various vegetable substances used to add flavor to food, the word is {la'yIgh}.  Apparently this originally referred to a particular spice or herb, but, over time, it came to be used for spice(s) in general.

CULINARY NOTES:
(KGT 85):  The Klingon diet consists primarily of animal matter. With a few notable exceptions, plants seldom form the bases of dishes in their own right, though they are used quite a bit in food preparation, particularly as seasoning.

(KGT 87 re {qagh}):  the worms are poured into a bowl filled with the {ghevI'} (sauce), which contains, among other ingredients, pellets of an extremely flavorful herb that the hungry worms quickly ingest, even though it is toxic to them and kills them within minutes.

(KGT 85-86):  The usual Federation Standard translations of the primary tastes (pungent, sour, salty) are a little deceptive. From the Klingon point of view, it is not accurate to say that a particular food is sour; rather, it tastes and smells sour. That is, sourness is not an intrinsic quality of the food; it is a perception, the effect the food has upon the senses of smell and taste, the Klingon sense of smell being particularly highly developed. Translations such as "sour-inducing" ({Soj wIb}, "sour-inducing food";  {na' Soj}, "The food induces saltiness") would perhaps be closer to the feeling of the Klingon, but they are a bit clumsy.

(KGT 85):  To the Klingon palate, the best food tastes {tlhorgh} (pungent, though some non-Klingons may prefer to translate the word as rank or gamey) ... The same ideas are often expressed idiomatically. When talking about the quality of a dish, one may say {jej pach} ("The claw is sharp; that is, the food is pungent")   The opposite of {tlhorgh} is {tlhorghHa'}, conventionally translated as bland but literally meaning "unpungent", the implication being that the natural punch has somehow been taken out of the food as a result of how it was prepared. The same ideas are often expressed idiomatically. When talking about the quality of a dish, one may say ... {jejHa' pach} ("The claw is dull"; in other words, the food is bland, where {jejHa'} [dull] really means something like de-sharpened).

TREK NOTES:
Jake Sisko and Julian Bashir are partial to I'danian spice pudding. (DS9 various episodes)

SEE:
*vutmeH tI 	spices, herbs (n) [Fiat Knox] 

SEE ALSO:
Qenvob 	ground-up, dried-up mixture [of plants and animal parts] for brewing tea (n)
ngat 		herbed granulated cartilage (n)
wIlpuq  		pudding (n)

Huy 		be spicy, piquant, hot (v)
jIy 		be umami, savory, earthy (v)

--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons