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Select Elvish Words 5.34-5.37: Pitcher, Cup, Spoon

5.34 Jug, Pitcher

ᴱQ. olpe n. “bottle”
An isolated word without a root appearing as ᴱQ. olpe “bottle” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/69).

Neo-Quenya: I’d retain ᴺQ. olpë “bottle” for purposes of Neo-Quenya as we have no other later alternatives.

ᴱQ. ulma n. “flagon, *pitcher”
A word appearing as ᴱQ. ulma “flagon” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s derived from ᴱ✶ḷma (QL/97). Tolkien said it was not related to the early root ᴱ√ULU “pour” because Gnomish derivatives of that root showed gul- (indicating a true root form *ᴱ√GULU), whereas the Gnomish cognate of this word was G. ulm (GL/74).

Neo-Quenya: Tolkien soon changed his mind and decided the root for “pour” was in fact ᴱ√ULU. I would therefore retain ᴺQ. ulma for purposes of Neo-Quenya, but would assume it was derived from *ul-mā “a thing for pouring”. As such, I would assume its use also included pitchers with handles as well as flagons; this is how Helge Fauskanger used ulma in his Neo-Quenya New Testament (NQNT).

G. ulm n. “jar, flagon, *pitcher”
A word appearing as G. ulm “jar, flagon” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s derived from ᴱ✶ḷm (GL/74). In the contemporaneous Quenya Lexicon Tolkien said it was not related to the early root ᴱ√ULU “pour” because Gnomish derivatives of that root showed gul- indicating a true root form *ᴱ√GULU (QL/97). Tolkien soon changed his mind and decided the root for “pour” was in fact ᴱ√ULU, and the primitive form ᴱ✶ḷm was deleted from the Gnomish Lexicon.

Neo-Sindarin: I would retain the word for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, but would assume it was derived from *ul-mā “a thing for pouring”. As such, I would assume its use included pitchers with handles as well as flagons and jars. Its form would need to be adapted as ᴺS. olf to fit Sindarin phonetics, with u becoming o before a and then lm > lf (pronounced [lv]).

5.35 Cup

Q. cilinyul (*cilinyulm-) n. “drinking-vessel (made of glass)”
A drinking vessel made of glass, a combination of Q. cilin “glass” (PE17/37). Its second element is probably a reduced form of Q. yulma “cup”. If so, its stem form would be *cilinyulm-.
ᴹQ. súlo (*súlu-) n. “goblet”
A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s appearing as ᴹQ. {súla >>} súlo “goblet” derived from {ᴹ✶suglā >>} ᴹ✶suglu based on ᴹ√SUG, a variant of the root ᴹ√SUK “drink” (Ety/SUK; EtyAC/SUK).
Q. yulma n. “cup, drinking vessel, drinking implement, ⚠️goblet”
A word for “cup” in the Namárië “poem” (LotR/377). Elsewhere Tolkien specified it was a more general term for a “drinking vessel” or “drinking implement”, a derivative of ✶yulmā = √YUL + ✶-mā and hence more literally “a thing used in drinking” (PE17/63, 68, 135; WJ/416).
G. socthor n. “drinking-horn”
A noun appearing as G. socthor “a drinking-horn” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, a combination of G. sog- “drink” and G. târ “horn” (GL/68). It appeared below a variant G. sogli with the abstract noun suffix -li and above another variant sogridâr with both an abstract noun suffix and târ “horn”.

Neo-Sindarin: Since √SOK “drink” and [N.] sog- reappeared in Tolkien’s later writings, I would retain this noun but adapt it as ᴺS. soethor “drinking-horn” to reflect the later Sindarin vocalization of stops: okt > oith > oeth. I would further assume the second element was derived from ᴹ√TARAK “horn (of animals)” (Ety/TARÁK), perhaps -tārak > -taura > -thor where the final k vanished as it often did in longer words.

N. sûl n. “goblet”
A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “goblet” derived from ᴹ✶suglu based on ᴹ√SUG, a variant of the root ᴹ√SUK “drink” (Ety/SUK).

Neo-Sindarin: The vocalization of combinations like ugl seems have changed in later Sindarin, so that more likely ugl > uil instead of ūl. However, I prefer to assume that there were dialectical variations in the phonetic developments among the ancient Sindar so Noldorin words like these can salvaged.

S. ylf n. “drinking-vessel, *cup”
A word for a “drinking-vessel” appearing in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 as a derivative of ✶julmā [yulmā] = √YUL + ✶-mā “*thing for drinking” (WJ/416), where the final lm became lf (pronounced [lv]). It was cognate to Q. yulma, and hence probably also means “*cup”.

5.37 Spoon

G. salfinc n. “spoon”
A noun appearing as G. salfinc in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, apparently a diminutive form of G. salf “bowl” (GL/66).

Neo-Sindarin: Since I prefer ᴺS. tolph for “bowl” to avoid conflict with N. salff [salph] “broth”, I would update this Gnomish word to ᴺS. tolpheg “spoon” using the later diminutive suffix -eg.

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