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

[Steven Boozer]

> Klingon word:   'etlh
> Part of speech: noun
> Definition:     sword, blade

Used in canon:

yIntaHvIS qeylIS'e' lIjlaHbe'bogh vay' batlh 'etlhvam chenmoHlu'pu' 
this sword of honor descends from the time of Kahless the Unforgettable. S8

wa' jaj 'etlh 'uchchoHlaH tlhIngan puqloD; jajvetlh loD nen moj 
The son of a Klingon is a man the day he can first hold a blade. TKW

'etlh QorghHa'lu'chugh ragh 'etlh nIvqu' 'ej jejHa'choH 
Even the best blade will rust and grow dull unless it is cared for. TKW

tagha' pawpu' meb 'ach pumDI' 'etlh Heghpu' qagh 
The guest finally arrived, but by then the gagh had died. (st.k 11/99)

qab yon Da'agh. qablIj yon yI'aghHa' 'aghHa'pa' 'etlhwIj. 
Scrape that smug look from your face before my blade does it for you. (STConst p.259)

ghob'etlh [a gutting tool] KCD

pan qeylIS betleH 'ej jach molor 'etlh 
Kahless's batlh'etlh sparks and Molor's sword roars. ('U'-OPERA)

QIStaq qul bIQtIqHomDaq 'etlhDaj vo' nuch 
The coward threw his sword Into the fire streams of Kri'stak (PB p.??)

qeylIS 'etlh Datlhapqa' 'e' DaQapbe' 
Fail to retrieve the Sword of Kahless. MKE

batlh 'etlh 
sword of honor KGT
(name for Kahless' original bat'leth?)


Cultural notes:

KGT 60:  The word 'etlh is used for sword in general, but it really means blade of any kind. The 'etlh, then, is a component of a knife and could be part of a spear as well. Another word normally translated sword, yan, is more specific, referring to swords (that is, weapons with long blades) only. There is also the verb yan, which means wield or manipulate (a sword). A swordfighter, then, would be a yanwI', literally a "sword wielder"); the word for the specific type of sword may be, but need not be, included. It is thus proper to say betleH yanwI' ("bat'leth wielder") or betleH yan ("He/she wields a bat'leth"). A 'etlh, even if primarily a weapon, may be used in other activities as well, such as hunting and even sculpting. Indeed, to restrict the use of a 'etlh to combat is to minimize the flexibility of its design. By the same token, a blade not designed as a weapon may be used as a weapon if need be, though to be attacked by a warrior wielding something that is normally classified as a tool is considered by some to be an insult to one's honor.

KGT 80:  In addition to the specialized tools, any blade ('etlh), even if designed for other purposes, may be used as a sculpting tool. Kahless himself is said to have used his bat'leth, the original "Sword of Honor," to carve a statue for the woman he loved, presumably Lukara.

KGT 61f.:  The qutluch ... has a serrated blade (Ho' 'etlh [literally, tooth blade]), so it is particularly lethal.

KGT 59:  Kahless created the name betleH, meaning "sword of honor." The word betleH is actually an archaic form. In contemporary Klingon, "sword of honor" would be batlh 'etlh, though this phrase is used almost exclusively as a translation or explanation of the older word, betleH.

KGT 121-22:  The idiom bIQ'a'Daq 'oHtaH 'etlh'e' (The sword is in the ocean) is used to mean that something has ended, that it is impossible to return to a prior condition, just as Kahless and Morath never spoke to each other again. The expression might be used, for example, in reference to a treaty that was just signed, suggesting that a former state of antagonism has ended forever. Of course, simply saying that something will last forever does not make it so. If an alliance ends, the phrase is equally apt: the era of peace has ended, and the sword is in the ocean--there is no going back.

KGT 146f.:  this word [bochmoHwI'] is all that remains of an earlier expression,'etlh bochmoHwI' (blade shiner). It was originally used to refer to someone who shined somebody else's blade, as opposed to one's own, suggesting the idea of flattering a superior rather than simply doing one's own work. A nonslang equivalent might be naDwI' (one who praises), though this lacks the overtones of 'self-serving'.

KGT 19:  In the Krotmag Region "a sword is often termed yan 'etlh (or even 'etlh yan)--literally, sword sword." 


Related noun:

cha''etlh pe'wI' 	scissors (TalkNow!)