This is an educated approximation where the speaker is attempting to be as accurate as they can with the information they have.

"A Klingon may be inaccurate, but he is never approximate." (CK)

Similarly, there are several verbs for "fight," "battle," and the like. Most broadly, "do battle" or "wage war"--- that is, actually engage in a conflict in which a number of combatants are involved---is ghob. The notion of "make war" in the general sense, referring to the idea of war and not a specific war, is Qoj. The verb for "fight," whether in a war or a one-on-one confrontation, is Suv.

In short, the nouns veS ("war, warfare") and vIq ("combat") and the verb Qoj ("wage war") all are used to refer to the ideas of warfare, combat, and making war, while the nouns noH ("war") and may' ("battle") and the verbs ghob ("make war, do battle") and Suv ("fight") are used when referring to specific, concrete instances of war, battle, and fighting.

Thus, it is possible to say noH ghob or noH Suv, both meaning "He/she fights a war," or may' ghob or may' Suv, meaning "He/she fights a battle," but it is not normally acceptable to say veS ghob ("He/she fights a warfare") or vIq Suv ("He/she fights a combat").