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

[Steven Boozer]

> Klingon Word of the Day for Friday, January 31, 2014
> 
> Klingon word: Qam
> Part of speech: verb
> Definition: stand

  QamvIS Hegh qaq law' torvIS yIn qaq puS 
  Better to die on our feet than live on our knees. (ST6 & TKW)
  ("Dying while standing is preferable to living while kneeling.")

TKW 95:  The grammatical construction is a bit aberrant; one would expect {QamtaHvIS} and {tortaHvIS}. In proverbs, grammatical shortcuts are not uncommon.

  yIyong 'ej pa' yIQam 
  Get in and stand there. CK

  Qam 
  Stand! PK

  poSDaq nIHDaq je QamtaHvIS SuvwI'pu', chaH jojDaq yItnIS lopwI' 
  The initiate must pass through a gauntlet of warriors. S9

STEnc 124:  Klingon tradition held that when a Klingon was unable to stand and face his enemies, he should choose the *Hegh'bat* [ritual suicide]."


Related vocabulary:

Hu' 		get up (v)
joD 		stoop (v)
tor 		kneel (v)
SIH 		bend (v)
Qot		lie, recline (v)
ba'		sit (v)


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons