Lexember 8th: arta "dew"

Today's word is entirely in the service of extending a conceptual metaphor, WATER IS LIFE. The word is arta /ˈʔaɾ.ta/ dew.

Ëlá në arta kwan uralin chasirë.
3PL TOP dew INST wet do.IPFV
They're getting wet from the dew.

Because it usually appears on plants, the verb for dew developing is lairo grow,

Kinta rëtin arta lairo.
night much dew grow.PFV
At night a lot of dew settled.

Dovetailing with the SALT IS VITALITY metaphor, we get this expression,

In ches in arta si relo.
and salt and dew ACC carry.PFV
Everything's going great.

Literally, "I'm carrying salt and dew," but this is used to express that everything's going well, especially in health and by extension other material matters. Usually, just in ches in arta is sufficient to convey the message.

Lexember 7th: kwihin, "sharp, pointed; irritable"

An unexpected gap: kwihin /ˈkʷi.xin/ sharp, pointed. That is, it can refer to sharpness for both a blade and a point (a common enough polysemy):

Ën ausan në tanui kwihin no tul?
this blade TOP sufficiently sharp be.PFV Q
Is this knife sharp enough?

Ha në kwihin motiën kwan suillo.
1SG TOP sharp branch with jab.PFV
I jabbed it with a sharp stick.

When used referring to people, it means irritable.

Ël në kwihin ënni no rui.
3SG TOP irritable today be.PFV MIR
Wow, he's irritable today.

A word like this can regularly refer to some quality of pain, but I haven't yet decided if I'm going to use kwihin for that.

Lexember 6th: túm "mush, goop"

A terribly important word today, túm /tuːm/ goop, goo, mush. Basically, any viscous substance you're not too happy to be encountering.

Túm mai úri talo vukai!
goop AD just.now walk FINAL.PRT
I just stepped in some goo!

The final particle vukai is rather like Na'vi's ‹äng› infix. It indicates the speaker is displeased in some way with the state of affairs described.

Vura túm ën sen nen nulo?
what mush this bowl LOC lie.PFV
What mush is in this bowl?

This may not seem like a brilliant example sentence, but it does indicate that túm lies, rather than sits or stands, in a location.

Lexember 5th: konta "resin; incense"

Today's word is konta resin, sap, but also incense. It is related to the verb konno flow, seep, ooze.

Konta në ol li raumirë.

kont-a në ol li raum-irë

sap-SG TOP hand ABL stick-IPFV

The sap is sticking to my hand.

Ën konta në muëmin annas si relo.

this incense TOP sweet aroma ACC bear

This incense has a sweet smell.

I might ultimately derive perfume, cologne from this, too. Haven't yet decided.

Lexember 4th: raumo "stick, adhere"

I was not planning to post this word today. In fact, I had no plans for this word at all. But in the course of preparing for tomorrow's word, I needed today's word in an example. I really think this is another of the hidden benefits of creating examples for all your new vocabulary — it often leads to ideas for even more words.

There are a few things coming out of today's new root, raumo /ˈɾaʊ̯.mo/, stick, adhere. It uses the ablative postposition li for the point of attachment.

Kausin has chátis li raumo.
dead fly window ABL stick.PFV
A dead fly is stuck to the window.

And it can be used in the causative (-ël-):

Kúsa li kítuël si raumëli re.
kús-a li kítuël si raum-ël-i re
wall-SG ABL map ACC stick-CAUS-IMP PART
(Please) stick the map to the wall.

Among other jobs, re tones down the impact of a command.

Next, we can derive an adjective of tendency, raumohin, prone to stick, sticky.

Ën para në vuttë raumohin chaso vau?
this book TOP why sticky do.PFV PART
Why the hell has this book gotten sticky?

The combination of any question word with vau adds a WTF tone to the question. And chaso do is preferred to mëlo become for adjective states.

Ta pamma në kólla raumohin no so.
that plant TOP seed prone.to.adhere be.PFV ASSEV.PART
The seeds of that plant are prone to adhering. (As a burr, for example).

The particle so slightly buffs up how much you are asserting something.

Lexember 3rd: suilta "tattoo"

Derived from the verb suillo prick, pierce, jab, the noun suilta /su.ˈil.ta/ is tattoo. As is normal with states and bodily attachments, in Kílta you relo carry these, rather than simply have them.

Ha në valu suiltur si relo.
ha në val-u suilt-ur si rel-o
1SG TOP three-PL tattoo-PL ACC bear-PFV
I have three tattoos.

When it comes to giving someone a tattoo, though, a complex converb expression is used. The imperfective converb of suillo comes first, taking the patient of this action, and the main verb is kicho incise; write.

Naula në ël si suillár kicho.
naula në ël si suill-ár kich-o
friend TOP 3SG ACC prick.IPFV.CVB write-PFV
His friend gave him a tattoo.

Lexember 2nd: lé "into water"

There is a perfectly fine word for just "water" in Kílta, mata, and even a way to say "into water," mata mai, but the adverb lé /leː/ is preferred for motion into water or any other liquid. If for some reason the exact nature of the liquid was focused, then you could use mata mai or the like.

Ëla në kiva li tunákirë, lé oto.

3.PL TOP tree ABL hang.IPFV into.liquid fall.PFV

They were hanging from a tree and fell into the water.

Likër si tëlpár, in natena in tërta si lé salko.
soup ACC cook.CVB.IPFV and onion and meat ACC into.water place.PFV
Making the soup, he added onion and meat.