[Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: bal

[Steven Boozer]

Voragh:
>> A useful verb is {muq} "have a volume of".  So if a bloodwine
>> bottle is a standard size:
>>    vaghmaH 'Iw HIq bal muq qeghvam
>>    This barrel has a volume of 50 bloodwine bottles.
>>
>> To refer to the number of actual bottles in the barrel:
>>    vaghmaH 'Iw HIq bal ngaS qeghvam
>>    This barrel contains 50 bottles of bloodwine.

quljIb:
> Martok makes reference a number of times to *cases* of bloodwine.  I
> presume this is a box-shaped container {ngaSwI'}, convenient for
> shipping, with a standard number of bloodwine bottles {'Iw HIq balmey}
> therein.

We've seen that bloodwine is also transported and stored in metal barrels (cf. DS9 "Apocalypse Rising", "Warriors of the Empire", etc.).  It's a stretch, but it's possible that Martok was mis-translating {qegh} "vat, barrel (for storage of liquor)".  In Trek shipping crates and cargo containers come in a variety of shapes, including those with a hexagonal cross section (I imagine for ease in stacking in a stable manner).

{'Ib} "tub" might work for crate:

KGT 97:  A square or rectangular tub used to hold food while it is fermenting is called a {'Ib} 
  
... although to me a tub is an open box without a lid. A better option might be the new word {'aplo'} which seems to mean an enclosed container (e.g. case, box, etc.).  Known examples are {wab qoSta' 'aplo'} "cassette" (TNK), {'ul 'aplo'mey} "batteries" (TNK) and {ngaS 'aplo'} "contents (i.e. of the Monopoly game box)".  

KGT 98:  Since certain drinks are typically associated with certain containers, saying the type of drink plus {HIvje'} indicates the type of cup or glass as well: {'Iw HIq HIvje'} (bloodwine glass)

This pattern probably works for containers as well, so one might say generally *{tep 'aplo'} "crate, cargo container" or, more specifically, *{'Iw HIq 'aplo'}, *{'Iw HIq qegh}, or *{'Iw HIq 'Ib}.


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons