Dunsel is a term used by midshipmen in the 23rd century to describe a part which serves no useful purpose.

The term was used as an insult (albeit a playful one) to Captain James T. Kirk during the war games test of the M-5 Multitronic Unit created by Dr. Richard Daystrom. Commodore Robert Wesley called Kirk Captain Dunsel because the M-5's ultimate goal was to replace the need for living captains at all. This caused great confusion in Dr. Leonard McCoy, who was unfamiliar with the word. Kirk's First Officer Spock explained the term only after Kirk had left the bridge, stung by the insult. (TOS: "The Ultimate Computer")

External linkEdit

• Dunsel at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works