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Select Elvish Words 8.571: Bloom

8.571 Bloom

⚠️Q. alalmë n. “inflorescence”

A word appearing as {alalbe >>} alalme “inflorescence” in notes from around 1959, derived from √GAL² (PE17/153). Compare this to [ᴹQ./ᴱQ.] alalme “elm” from The Etymologies of the 1930s and the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (Ety/ÁLAM; QL/29); in the 1959 notes Tolkien decided “elm” was albe.

Neo-Quenya: In these 1959 notes, the root √GAL² had a connection to flowers seen nowhere else; see alma “flower” for discussion. As such, I think this “inflorescence” word was a transient idea, and I would use other words like lós and olos “inflorescence” for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

ᴱQ. lótea adj. “full of blossom”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. lótea “full of blossom” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, an adjectival form of ᴱQ. lóte “flower, blossom” under the early root ᴱ√LO’O (QL/55-56).

Neo-Quenya: Since Q. lótë “flower” survived in Tolkien’s later writings, I would keep ᴺQ. lótëa “full of blossom, *blooming, flowering” for purposes of Neo-Quenya. This adjective also appeared in lilótëa “having many flowers” from the late 1960s (VT42/18).

Q. olos (olós-) n. “inflorescence, mass of flowers”

A word for “inflorescence, mass of flowers (on one plant)” in notes on flowers from the same bundle containing Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) written in 1959, with forms lōs and olos (olōs-) which were both based on √LOTH “flower”, the latter with the prefix o- “together” (PE17/160). There was also a form {lūsse, lōs >>} lōs in notes from around 1967, appearing near lótë “flower, a single blossom” and (deleted) {loste} “blossom (conglomeration of small flowers)” (PE17/26). The intended meaning of lōs in these 1967 notes isn’t clear other than that it was flower-related.

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. lokte (lokte-) “blossom, flowers in bunches or clusters” under the early root ᴱ√LOHO (QL/55). In the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa it was glossed “flower-cluster” (PME/55) and in the Gnomish Lexicon it was lokse “bunch, cluster” (GL/54).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would mainly used olos (olós-) for “inflorescence, mass of flowers”; compare olass(i)ë “foliage, collection of leaves”. I would use it for any mass of flowers, however, as opposed olótë “bloom, the flowers collectively of a single plant” from the late 1960s (VT42/18).

Q. olótë n. “bloom, the flowers collectively of a single plant”

A word in notes from the late 1960s glossed “bloom, the flowers collectively of a single plant” (VT42/18), a combination of o- “together” and lótë “flower”.

S. goloth n. “inflorescence, *collection of flowers”

A word in notes from the late 1960s meaning “inflorescence, *collection of flowers”, a combination of go- “together” and loth “flower” (VT42/18).

Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. {goloth >>} gwaloth “blossom, collection of flowers” as a combination of ᴹ√WO “together” and ᴹ√LOTH “flower” (Ety/LOT(H)).

S. lûth n. “blossom, inflorescence [on a single plant]”

A word for “blossom, inflorescence” in notes on flowers from the same bundle containing Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) written in 1959, cognate to Q. lós of similar meaning and serving as the basis for the name S. Lúthien “Daughter of Flowers” (PE17/161). Another word of similar meaning is S. goloth; I think lûth may specifically refer to blooms on a single plant, whereas goloth to any collection of flowers.

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