voDleH

voDleH
IPA: [ vod.'leh ] Phonetic: [ vod.'leh ]

pIqaD: vodleh

emperor

word type: noun, TKD chapter 3.

plural: voDleHpu' (beings capable of language)

Source

The Klingon Dictionary p. 112

Derived and related words

voDleH Ha'DIbaH emperor's meat

More Information

The difference between ta' and voDleH is not known. Both words appeared in TKD. There are some theories and opinions:

I know it's based on nothing and just my feeling: I think that due to its length, voDleH sounds a lot more "majestic", more formal. The word ta' sounds like an everyday speech word, that is probably used more often in daily speech. All of this is just theory of course. I probably feel the same in English, where "King" sounds less important to me than "The Emperor". Since I liked the sound and the uniqueness of the word, I translated "King" with voDleH in The Little Prince. (Lieven, 7/3/2019)

Someone once noticed the resemblance of voDleH to betleH bat'leth, meqleH mek'leth, tIqleH tik'leth, and 'aqleH, all types of ancient bladed weapons. Could this have been a type of weapon or implement reserved for ancient emperors and came to be a reference to the emperor (in the same way that "the Crown" sometimes refers to the monarch in English, as well as the office of the monarch, the Palace, etc.)? Or could voDleH have been an old military term (e.g. however grand it means today, "emperor" comes from Latin imperator originally meaning a "military commander", derived from imperare "to command").

AFAIK voDleH has only been used when Kahless became voDleH of the Klingon empire wo' and for an (old?) style of cooking. I believe voDleH is the only word used in the paq'batlh, and then only once in the line quoted at the beginning of this post.

The clue might be in Okrand's comment on ta' Hol:

Throughout Klingon history, and still today, if the leader of the Empire carries the title ta' (Emperor)... (KGT p. 14)

... that is, ta' term for the emperor himself and his person and property, while voDleH is an older title still used for things "imperial". (?)