Changes: Dunsel

Revision as of 20:41, 11 April 2020

A dunsel was a slang term used in the Federation Standard language to describe an item that was completely useless in Starfleet service. Starfleet Academy tradition assigns this moniker to people or things that serve no purpose. (TNG reference: Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual; TOS novel: Vulcan!)

Commodore Robert Wesley once jokingly called Captain James T. Kirk "Captain Dunsel" after Kirk's vessel the USS Enterprise first successfully tested the M-5 computer, which was designed to take over a captain's role commanding a starship. (TOS episode: "The Ultimate Computer")

Lieutenant Roakn and other members of the Titan crew gave Cadet Zurin Dakal the nickname "Cadet Dunsel", giving him the least important jobs in the science section. Commander Jaza Najem responded by assigning Dakal to the Telemetric observation VISOR to run a probe on a quantum rippling effect, saying "I don't believe in dunsels, Cadet. Never have, never will." (TTN novel: Sword of Damocles)

Ardon Broht called Quark a dunsel in 2385, to Quark's consternation. (DS9 eBook: Lust's Latinum Lost (and Found))

The term would appear to be derived from the name of Earth Starfleet captain Roy Dunsel; however, since Dunsel and his crew heroically sacrificed themselves in battle, it is unknown exactly how this happened, since the real Captain Dunsel certainly did serve a purpose.

External link

Dunsel article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.

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 A '''dunsel''' was a [[slang]] term used in the [[Federation Standard]] [[language]] to describe an item that was completely useless in [[Starfleet]] service. [[Starfleet Academy]] tradition assigns this moniker to people or things that serve no purpose. ({{r|TNG|Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual}}; {{n|TOS|Vulcan!}})
-[[Commodore]] [[Robert Wesley]] once jokingly called [[Captain]] [[James T. Kirk]] as "Captain Dunsel" when Kirk's vessel was slated to test the [[M-5 computer]], which was designed to take over a captain's role [[CO|commanding]] a [[starship]]. ({{e|TOS|The Ultimate Computer}})
+[[Commodore]] [[Robert Wesley]] once jokingly called [[Captain]] [[James T. Kirk]]  "Captain Dunsel" after Kirk's vessel the USS Enterprise first successfully tested the [[M-5 computer]], which was designed to take over a captain's role [[CO|commanding]] a [[starship]]. ({{e|TOS|The Ultimate Computer}})
 [[Lieutenant]] [[Roakn]] and other members of the ''[[USS Titan|Titan]]'' crew gave [[Cadet]] [[Zurin Dakal]] the nickname "Cadet Dunsel", giving him the least important jobs in the science section. [[Commander]] [[Jaza Najem]] responded by assigning Dakal to the [[Telemetric observation VISOR]] to run a probe on a quantum rippling effect, saying "I don't believe in dunsels, Cadet. Never have, never will." ({{n|TTN|Sword of Damocles}})
 [[Ardon Broht]] called [[Quark]] a dunsel in [[2385]], to Quark's consternation. ({{eb|DS9|Lust's Latinum Lost (and Found)}})
+:''The term would appear to be derived from the name of [[Earth Starfleet]] captain [[Roy Dunsel]]; however, since Dunsel and his crew heroically sacrificed themselves in battle, it is unknown exactly how this happened, since the real Captain Dunsel certainly did serve a purpose.''
 ==See also==
 *{{USS|Dunsel}}