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

[Steven Boozer]

> Klingon word:   pIn
> Part of speech: noun
> Definition:     boss

AFAIK never used in a sentence.
 
KGT 158-59:  The word {pIn} is literally "boss". In its slang sense, it is never used alone but always in constructions such as {'Iw HIq pIn} (expert on bloodwine, somebody who knows all about bloodwine; literally, "bloodwine boss"). The word {pIn} is also found in nonslang terms referring to crew members on a ship: {QeDpIn} (science officer), {QumpIn} (communications officer). It is not known whether these words originated as slang and became accepted as the regular terms or whether the use of {pIn} in the sense of expert, authority was modeled after the words {QeDpIn} and {QumpIn}. Note that for the crew terms, in one case {pIn} follows a noun ({QeD}, "science" thus, {QeDpIn} is "science boss"), but in the other, it follows what is found elsewhere only as a verb ({Qum}, "communicate"), suggesting that there may have been a noun {Qum} ("communication") at some point in the past. The nonslang term for an expert is {po'wI'} (literally, "one who is expert, skilled").

Add to this list {jonpIn} "engineering officer" and {nuHpIn} "weapons officer".

*{pab pIn} is used by the KLI for "grammarian" and *{HolpIn} for "linguistics officer" (i.e. {tlhIngan Hol} expert of a fan club).

I've seen *{HungpIn} "Head of Security, Chief of Security, Security Officer", *{luchpIn} "quartermaster" and *{to'pIn} "tactical officer" used on this list.  (The latter is a known Klingon post:  The IKC Pagh had an (unnamed) "tactics officer" on the bridge [TNG "A Matter of Honor"] and Worf served briefly as tactical officer aboard the IKC Hegh'ta during the Klingon Civil War of 2367-68 [TNG "Redemption I & II"].)

Qov once used *{matlhpIn} for "secret policeman, chekist".

Related words:
pIn tlhoy'  	territorial wall 
pIn'a'  		master

Note that {maHpIn}, a large bowl used for serving food, is apparently unrelated (cf. KGT p.205 and p.99f.).


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons