4.99 Naked, Bare
- ᴹQ. helda adj. “naked, stripped bare”
- An adjective for “naked” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶skelnā under the root ᴹ√SKEL (Ety/SKEL). In the entry for ᴹ√SKAL¹ “screen, hide”, helda was glossed “stripped bare” and contrasted with ᴹQ. halda “veiled, hidden” (Ety/SKAL¹). This comparison is probably because Tolkien originally had ᴹQ. halla “naked” from the root ᴹ√SKAL, but this entry and its derivatives were deleted (EtyAC/SKEL).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use the helda “naked” in the sense of “*without clothes”, as opposed to parnë for “naturally bare or bald”. I would also use helda in the sense “*denuded”, in references to regions with plant growth removed.
Conceptual Development: There are a couple earlier “naked” words beginning with h- in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s: ᴱQ. hulin and ᴱQ. hulqa “naked” under the early root ᴱ√HULU “strip” (QL/41). Given the gloss “stripped bare” for helda in the 1930s, these 1910s words might be its precursors.
- ⚠️Q. parca adj. “naked (of persons)”
- An adjective for “naked (of persons)” derived from √PAR “peel” appearing in notes from around 1959 (PE17/86).
Conceptual Development: There were a couple of similar words in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s: ᴱQ. falka “naked” and ᴱQ. falin “bare, nude, fallow” under the early root ᴱ√FALA “bare, nude” (QL/37). In the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa these words appeared as falka “naked, bare” and falin “bare, wild, of land” (PME/37).
Neo-Quenya: I would avoid these words for purposes of Neo-Quenya, using ᴹQ. helda “naked, stripped bare” instead. In the case of 1959 parca, it conflicts with 1930s ᴹQ. parka “dry”, and while we have number of options for “naked” words, there are not many good options for “dry”.
- N. hell adj. “naked, *stripped”
- An adjective in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “naked” and derived from primitive ᴹ✶skelnā under the root ᴹ√SKEL (Ety/SKEL). This word was originally hall “naked” under an earlier but deleted form of the root ᴹ√SKAL (EtyAC/SKEL). The root ᴹ√SKEL was also the basis for the verb N. heltha- “to strip”, and its Quenya derivative ᴹQ. helda was at one point was glossed “stripped bare” (Ety/SKAL¹), so the word hell seems to mean “naked” in the sense “*stripped (of clothing or other covering)”.
Conceptual Development: There are a couple of earlier “naked” words in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s that seems to be similarly derived. G. dautha “naked, stripped” was related to daf- “to strip, flay” (GL/29) and G. hulc “naked” (GL/49) is like the cognate of ᴱQ. hulqa “naked” under the early root ᴱ√HULU “strip” (QL/41). In later writings, some “naked” words were derived from √PAR “peel” instead (PE17/86, 171).
- S. lanc adj. “naked”
- A word for “naked” in the name Amon Lanc “Naked Hill” (UT/280).
- S. paran adj. “bare, naked; smooth, shaven”
- A word for “bare, naked” appearing in notes from the late 1950s and early 1960s to explain the name Dol Baran. This name was originally intended to be “*Brown Hill” with the second element N. baran “brown”; see N. Dolbaran from The Etymologies of the 1930s, which had baran as its second element (Ety/BARÁN). This meaning survived until Tolkien was working on the index to The Lord of the Rings (RC/433), but there he recognized this was problematic because the adjective baran should be mutated to varan. To resolve this quandary, Tolkien coined paran from the root √PAR “peel”, and this new adjective was variously glossed “smooth, shaven” (RC/433), “bare” (PE17/86) or “bare, naked” (PE17/171).
Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had some similar “bare” words: G. falt “bare” (GL/33) and fôl “empty, bare — leafless, esp. of trees” (GL/35), both based on the early root ᴱ√FALA “bare, nude” (QL/37).
- ⚠️S. parch adj. “naked (of persons)”
- An adjective for “naked (of persons)” derived from √PAR “peel” appearing in notes from around 1959 (PE17/86).
Conceptual Development: There was a similar word G. falon or falin “naked” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/33), derived from the early root ᴱ√FALA “bare, nude” (QL/37).
Neo-Sindarin: I would avoid these words for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, using [N.] hell “naked” instead. In the case of 1959 parca, it conflicts with 1930s N. parch “dry”, and while we have number of options for “naked” words, there are not many good options for “dry”.