Vulcan salute

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English[edit]

WOTD – 7 September 2023

Etymology[edit]

The American actor Leonard Nimoy making a Vulcan salute at the Phoenix Comicon in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A., in 2011.
The Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti making a Vulcan salute in honor of Nimoy while aboard the International Space Station on February 28, 2015; Nimoy had died the day before.

From Vulcan (“(attributively) inhabitant of the fictional planet Vulcan in the television series Star Trek”) +‎ salute. The gesture was devised by the American actor Leonard Nimoy (1931–2015) who portrayed the half-Vulcan character Spock in the television series Star Trek (originally broadcast 1966–1969); he first used it in “Amok Time”, the first episode of the second season aired on September 15, 1967.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Vulcan salute (plural Vulcan salutes)

  1. A gesture of greeting among Star Trek fans, consisting of a raised hand with the palm forward and the thumb extended, and the fingers parted between the middle finger and ring finger.
    • [1984 November, Jean Lorrah, chapter 3, in The Vulcan Academy Murders (Star Trek; 20), New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 22:
      Sarek turned to the others, now offering the Vulcan salute. "Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, may you live long and prosper." / "Thank you, and the same to you, Mr. Ambassador," said Kirk, managing to force his hand into the proper position.]
    • 1986 December 22, Charles Leerhsen, “Star Trek’s Nine Lives”, in Newsweek, New York, N.Y.: Newsweek, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 66; quoted in Henry Jenkins III, “Star Trek Rerun, Reread, Rewritten: Fan Writing as Textual Poaching”, in Constance Penley, Elisabeth Lyon, Lynn Spigel, Janet Bergstrom, editors, Close Encounters: Film, Feminism, and Science Fiction (A Camera Obscura Book), Minneapolis, Minn.: University of Minnesota Press, 1991 (1993 printing), →ISBN, page 171:
      Hang on: You are being beamed to one of those Star Trek conventions, where grownups greet each other with the Vulcan salute and offer in reverent tones to pay $100 for the autobiography of Leonard Nimoy.
    • 1995 March–April, Bill Grout, “Trial Run”, in Rick Kahl, editor, Skiing, volume 47, number 7, New York, N.Y.: Times Mirror Magazines, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 24, column 2:
      [W]e found a stalwart model [of glove]: Kombi's Lobster, a high-tech marvel with a unique clawlike design. […] The split-finger design combines the warmth of a mitten with added dexterity, making it easier for riders to grip their boards. As a bonus, it also lets them give other riders the split-finger Vulcan salute, just like Mr. Spock on the original Star Trek.
    • 1995 October, Leonard Nimoy, “Vulcanalia or The Vulcan Grows Up”, in I am Spock, New York, N.Y.: Hyperion, →ISBN, pages 67–68:
      For what would soon become known as the Vulcan salute, I borrowed a hand signal from Orthodox Judaism. During the High Holiday services, the Kohanim (who are the priests) bless those in attendance. As they do, they extend the palms of both hands over the congregation, with thumbs outstretched and the middle and ring fingers parted so that each hand forms two vees. This gesture symbolizes the Hebrew letter shin, the first letter in the word Shaddai; in the Jewish Qabala, shin also represents eternal Spirit.
    • 2005, Henry Bial, “Fiddling on the Roof, 1964–1971”, in Acting Jewish: Negotiating Ethnicity on the American Stage & Screen, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, →ISBN, page 69:
      They may exchange Vulcan salutes in greeting as a sign of in-group status—the in-group being Star Trek fans rather than Vulcans.
    • 2017, Nicholas H. Kovacs, She Wants to Dance with Me: A Script for a Theatrical Play, [Morrisville, N.C]: [Lulu.com], →ISBN, scene vi, page 35:
      Ooh! The Vulcan Salute! It is easy! [She demonstrates the Vulcan Salute again.] Peace and long life. Y'all supposed to respond back to me with; "Live long and prosper."
    • 2019, Sherilyn Connelly, “Prologue: Star Trek—The MacArthur Premiere”, in The First Star Trek Movie: Bringing the Franchise to the Big Screen, 1969–1980, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 20:
      [B]oth he [George Takei] and [Grace Lee] Whitney […] waved and offered Vulcan salutes to the fans assembled to the south, while also doing their due diligence for the professional photographers to the north.

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

  • Unicode: 🖖 (U+1F596, 🖖)

Further reading[edit]

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