[Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: jabwI'

[Steven Boozer]

> Klingon Word of the Day for Thursday, December 01, 2011
> 
> Klingon word:   jabwI'
> Part of speech: noun
> Definition:     waiter

As used in canon:

  jabwI'! wI'oj! 
  Server! We're thirsty! [sic! for {ma'oj}?] KGT

  Hop jabwI' 
  The waiter is far from me right now. (HQ 12/1998)

Cultural notes:

KGT 100ff.:  Any visitor to a Klingon city, or even outpost, will undoubtedly want to spend some time sampling Klingon food in a restaurant ({Qe'}). ... The person who takes the order and brings the food is the {jabwI'} ("server") and the chef is the {vutwI'} ("cook"; in a large restaurant, the head chef is referred to as the {vutwI' quv}, the "honored cook"). In small establishments, the {jabwI'} and {vutwI'} are likely to be the same individual. If there is a separate bar ({tach}), the bartender ({chom}) will mix drinks; otherwise, these chores fall to the {vutwI'}. When taking a table's order, the {jabwI'} neither writes anything down nor enters data into a computer. It is considered the duty of the {jabwI'} to remember ({qaw}) the choices and to bring the correct food, and servers tend to be quite skilled at this. On the rare occasion when the {jabwI'} has remembered incorrectly ({qawHa'}), the patron may reject ({lajQo'}) the dish. If the patron rejects a dish that the server believes has been properly remembered, however, the misunderstanding could develop into minor combat. For most of the other diners in the restaurant, this is regarded as an exhilarating diversion. The actual eating of a meal at a restaurant is done in accordance with the same rules of etiquette as any other meal, as described earlier. If anything additional is desired during the meal--more food or drink, for example--the server is called over by shouting {jabwI'!} ("Server!") If a refill of the drink order is all that is needed, some time can be saved by adding {wI'oj} ("We're thirsty") to the shout.

KGT 102f.:  Some restaurants ... sometimes called a {Do Qe'} ("velocity restaurant"), caters to those who have a limited amount of time to eat before returning to their various duties. In such an establishment, the menu is limited and changes quite infrequently. Orders are given and taken quickly, and lingering is uncommon. Each dish is prepared and served in one way and one way only, so it is inappropriate, for example, to say whether sauce is desired. The person taking the order is, in this case, called not a {jabwI'} ("server") but, instead, a {tebwI'} ("filler"), presumably because he or she fills a platter ({'elpI'}) with the requested food.


Related verbs:

{jab}   "serve food"
{wech}  "serve fermented food at its peak"


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons