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

[Steven Boozer]

> Klingon Word of the Day for Thursday, October 22, 2015
> 
> Klingon word: 'In
> Part of speech: noun
> Definition: percussion instrument (drum, bell)

KGT 74-75:  There are a great many Klingon percussion instruments--that is, instruments that make a sound as a result of something striking something else. Klingons seem to enjoy playing the percussion instruments more than instruments of other types. Among these are various drums and bells. The general term for a percussion instrument of any kind is {'In}. Some types of {'In} are struck with the hand, either palm ({toch}) or fist ({ro'}), depending on the particular instrument. To hit the instrument with the palm is {weq}; to strike it with the fist is {tlhaw'}. Other members of this group of instruments are hit with a stick of some kind. The stick often resembles a small hammer; when it does, it is termed {mupwI'Hom} (literally, "small striker"). A plain stick is a {naQHom} (literally, "small cane" or "small staff"). To strike the instrument with a stick is to {moq} (beat) the instrument. 
  The {'In} itself may be made entirely of metal (in which case it might be described as a bell, though in Klingon it is simply termed {baS 'In}, or "metal {'In}") or entirely of wood ({Sor Hap 'In}, "wood {'In}"). One kind of {Sor Hap 'In} is a tube, open on both ends, with a longitudinal slit extending not quite to either end. It is hit with a {mupwI'Hom}. Drums made of animal skin stretched over a cylinder of various materials are found but are not as common as other types of percussion instruments. Such a drum is called a {DIr 'In} (literally, "skin {'In}"). A {DIr 'In} usually has the skin stretched only over one end. A type of drum with skin stretched over both ends is called a {'o'lav}.
 
KGT 69:  When the parties are ready [to begin a duel], a third party, sort of a referee, says {moq}, the signal to begin. The verb {moq} literally means "beat" and it is a clipped form of, perhaps, {vImoq} ("I beat it") or even {vImoqpu'} ("I have beaten it"). In times past, one would hit something (such as a drum) with a stick to indicate the start of the duel; today, one simply says the word "beat".

HQ (10.2:8):  The "finger verbs" are used when talking about specific ways of using a particular device (weapon, computer control panel, even musical instrument)

POSSIBLE PUN: 
In Hebrew *'inbal* is the clapper of a bell. [Does anyone remember who suggested this?]

SEE ALSO:
chu' 		play (a musical instrument) (v)
much 		present, perform (music) (v)


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons