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

[Gaerfindel]

ghItlhpu' qurgh.  jatlh:
>> Klingon Word of the Day for Friday, November 30, 2012
>>
>> Klingon word:   ret
>> Part of speech: noun
>> Definition:     time period ago (past)
ghItlhpu' voragh.  jatlh:
> ...The words {ret} and {pIq} could also be used with days, months, and years (e.g., {wej jaj ret} "three days ago", rather than {wejHu'}, but utterances of these are not particularly common, sound a bit archaic, and are usually restricted to rather formal settings.
"Sound(ing) a bit archaic" seems just perfect to me if you're composing 
a piece that takes place back in the days of Kahless.

>     With longer time periods, such as a century ({vatlh DIS poH}), millennium ({SaD DIS poH}), or a period of 10,000 years (myriad, perhaps) ({netlh DIS poH}), the words {ret} or {pIq} may be used in place of {poH}, e.g., {cha' vatlh DIS poH} "two centuries", but {cha' vatlh DIS ret} "two centuries ago". The phrase {cha' vatlh ben} would mean "200 years ago". The choice of construction depends on what is being emphasized: in this case, the total number of centuries (two) or the total number of years (200).
>
> Related nouns:
>
> ben 		years ago, years old
> nem 		years from now
> pIq 		period of time from now
> poH		period of time
>
I think I've used {ben law'} and {ben law'qu'} to mean "many years ago" 
and "many, many years ago" respectively.

This isn't a perfect word-for-word rendering, but points to the list 
member who recognizes the original quote and where it's from.

{netlh DIS law' ret tIQbe' yuQ'e' tIQ, Sornganpu' HuDnganpu' lungpu' 
loDHompu' je toq.}

~quljIb