[Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: nughI'

[Steven Boozer]

> Klingon Word of the Day for Friday, July 10, 2015
> 
> Klingon word: nughI'
> Part of speech: verb
> Definition: twist knuckle into someone's head

charghwI':   A "noogie" involves sharp rapping or powerful grinding by the knuckles of the noogie-er on the head (usually above the forehead, but near the front of the head) of the (unfortunate) noogie-ee. When done properly, it's "exhiliratingly painful." 

SuStel:  SuSvaj happened to be sitting next to Okrand at {qep'a' wejDIch} when everyone was socializing and horsing around. While someone was giving a noogie to a hapless victim, Krankor jokingly said "We really should have a word for 'noogie'." So SuSvaj asked Okrand, what the Klingon word for noogie was. He replied, "Well that would be {nughI'}." Asked if this was borrowed from English, he said that he was fairly certain that the English word had actually been borrowed from {tlhIngan Hol}! "He suggested that some word-borrowing was going on, and I think he said he wasn't sure which culture had borrowed from which.

ghunchu'wI':  This is one of the very few times we have had the good fortune to pin down the meaning of a word precisely. At {qep'a' wejDIch}, we literally got the word straight from Marc Okrand's mouth. He verified the pronunciation, spelling, and usage for us. {qanughI'} is perfectly correct for "I give you a noogie." {nunughI'} is a valid word. [...] It's obviously a borrowed term. Okrand expressed uncertainty about whether the Klingon word was borrowed from English, or whether it was the other way around.

This can be serious if the noogie-er is wearing gloves:

KGT 58:  A warrior's glove ({pogh}), also made of skin [{DIr}], had wide band around the wrist [{yeb}] and sharp protrusions at the knuckles. If there was a special name for these protrusions, it is lost; they are now called simply {DuQwI'mey} (spikes). 

N.B.  This is one of four known multi-syllable (two-syllable) verbs.  The other three are {ghIpDIj} court martial, {He'So'} stink, {HoSghaj} be powerful/potent.  Anyone know of any others?


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons