[Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: nItlh naQ

[Steven Boozer]

> Klingon word:   nItlh naQ
> Part of speech: noun
> Definition:     pigment stick (slang)

Never used in a sentence.

Language notes:

KGT 80f.:  What the Federation would classify as a painting--that is, a {nagh beQ} featuring an image not carved into it but painted onto it--is made by applying {rItlh} (pigment, paint, dye) derived from either an animal or plant source. This may be done either by using fingers ({nItlhDu'}) or an implement called a {rItlh naQ} (pigment stick), a stick with flattened ends. The ends (sometimes referred to as the {nItlhpachDu'} [literally, "fingernails"]) are made in assorted sizes, making it possible to produce varied patterns. No doubt because of the phonetic similarity of the words {nItlh} (finger) and {rItlh} (pigment), the practice of applying pigment with fingers, and the habit of referring to the ends of pigment sticks as {nItlhpachDu'}, a pigment stick is also often called a {nItlh naQ} (literally, "finger stick}), though this term is used almost exclusively by the artisans themselves. The word {DIj} means "use a {rItlh naQ}, paint with a {rItlh naQ}" [...] The verb {ngoH}, meaning "smear" in other contexts, is used for "paint using fingers".

KGT 79:  The closest to a general term in this realm may be the verb {raQ}, which means "manipulate by hand, handle". It can be applied to carving, sculpting, metalworking, and the like...


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons