4.143 Hair (other)
- ᴹQ. fasse n. “tangled hair, shaggy lock”
- A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “tangled hair, shaggy lock” derived from the root ᴹ√PHAS (Ety/PHAS).
- ᴹQ. fasta- vb. “to tangle”
- A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “tangle” derived from the root ᴹ√PHAS (Ety/PHAS).
- Q. finda adj. “having hair, -haired”
- A word in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 glossed “having hair, -haired”, it is simply an adjectival form of Q. findë “hair” (PM/340).
- Q. lócë n. “bight, bend, curl of hair”
- A word for “bight, bend, curl of hair” in 1964 notes on Dalath Dirnen (DD), a derivative √LOK “bend” that was elsewhere the basis for “snake” words (PE17/160). According to Christopher Gilson, the gloss “curl of hair” might instead apply to the root.
- Q. nolya [ñ-] n. “dark-haired, *brown-haired”
- A word for “dark-haired”, part of a paradigm in which the Elvish tribe names were derived from their predominant hair color, in notes perhaps from around 1959-60:
√ÑGOL = dark-hued, dark-brown. OQ ñolda, dark-haired; but after special association with Clan, this was not much used; the colour word taking form ñolya (cf. vanya [= blonde > Vanyar]). The predominant colour of Noldorin hair was very dark brown; no Elf had absolute black hair (PE17/125).
In earlier iterations of this concept, Tolkien instead had Q. {losca, loksa “brown of hair” >> hrúva >>} hróva “dark, dark brown (of hair)”, but Tolkien then added ñolda as an alternative before marking the entire note as rejected (PE17/154-155).
Neo-Quenya: In this paradigm, Tolkien (temporarily) rejected the notion that √ÑGOL referred to wisdom, but this meaning was restored later (e.g. on PM/340 from 1968). However, I still think nolya might be used for “brown-haired” by way of a reversal of the association, where it referred to hair like the Noldor rather than being the basis of the tribe name.
- Q. vaina n. “blonde, fair of hair”
- A word for “blonde, fair of hair” appearing in notes probably from around 1959, part of a paradigm in which the Elvish tribe names were based on their predominant hair color; it was derived from a root √GWAY “pale, fair” distinct from √BAN “beautiful” (PE17/154-155). Although the note where this word appeared was deleted, a similar derivation of Vanyar appeared in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 from the root √WAN “fair” in reference to hair and complexion (WJ/383). [ᴺQ.] vaina “fair haired” could likewise be derived from that root.
- N. fast n. “shaggy hair”
- A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “shaggy hair” derived from ON. phasta under the root ᴹ√PHAS (Ety/PHAS).
- S. gwain adj. “blond”
- An adjective meaning “blond” appearing in notes written on or shortly before 1960, cognate to Q. vanya “fair-haired” from the root √WAN, distinct from √BAN “beauty” (PE17/150). A similar form S. gwân “pale, fair” appeared in notes from the same period, but the page where it appeared was marked through (PE17/165). It was part of a paradigm in which the name of the first tribe the Vanyar originally referred to the color of their hair; see bain “beautiful” for further discussion.
- ⚠️N. lhaws n. “ringlet”
- A noun appearing as N. lhaws “ringlet” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√LOKH, cognate to ᴹQ. lokse “hair” (Ety/LOKH). In this word, the spirantal χ vocalized to u after o as usual in Noldorin and then ou became au (aw).
Neo-Sindarin: Some people adapt this word as ᴺS. laus for Neo-Sindarin, replacing the unvoiced lh with voiced l. However, this is not the only relevant phonetic difference between Noldorin and Sindarin: χ generally vocalized to i in Sindarin and in any case seems not to have vocalized at all before s. It’s probably better to avoid such issues and just use ᴺS. loch for “ringlet”, adapted from N. lhoch.
- N. lhoch n. “ringlet”
- A noun appearing as N. lhoch “ringlet” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√LOKH (Ety/LOKH).
Neo-Sindarin: Since the unvoicing of initial liquids did not occur in Sindarin, many people adapt this word as ᴺS. loch “ringlet” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, as suggested in Hiswelókë’s Sindarin Dictionary (HSD).