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Select Elvish Words 8.99: Vegetation (other) – Quenya

8.99: Vegetation (other)

ᴹQ. arat (arac-) n. “weed”

A word for “weed” in the Declension of Nouns (DN) from the early 1930s with a stem form of arak- (PE21/33, 35).

Q. cëa n. “*hedge”

Quenya cognate of S. cai, second element of S. Morgai “Black Fence”, with both Q. këa and S. cai derived from √KAYA (PE17/101). Elsewhere S. cai was glossed “hedge” (UT/282), so perhaps the Quenya word cëa had the same meaning.

ᴹQ. earuile n. “seaweed”

A noun for “seaweed” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, a combination of ᴹQ. ear “sea” and ᴹQ. uile “long trailing plant” (Ety/UY).

ᴱQ. ectar n. “hawthorn, thorn”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. ektar “hawthorn” in the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa, a combination of ᴱQ. ek- “thorn” and ᴱQ. tar “hedge” (QL/35; PME/35). In the Qenya Lexicon, ektar had the added gloss “thorn”. There was also a longer form ᴱQ. pi(pi)nektar “whitethorn, hawthorn” with prefixed ᴱQ. pi(o)pin “haws [the fruit of hawthorns]” (QL/74; PME/74). Finally there was ᴱQ. tarasse “hawthorn” where ᴱQ. tar was the initial rather than final element (QL/87; PME/87).

Conceptual Development: Tolkien also had ᴱQ. nehta “hawthorn” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/140). Its etymology is unclear, but Wynne and Gilson suggested it might have been extracted from pi(pi)nektar.

Neo-Quenya: I would update this word to ᴺQ. eccahta “hawthorn, (lit.) thorn-hedge” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, using the later word hahta for “hedge”.

ᴱQ. eldasilque n. “maidenhair fern, (lit.) elf tress”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. eldasilqe “maidenhair fern, (sea) elf’s tress” in the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa, a combination of ᴱQ. Elda “elf” and ᴱQ. silqe “tree of hair” (QL/35; PME/35).

Neo-Quenya: I would update this word to ᴺQ. eldafindë “maidenhair fern, (lit.) elf tress” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, using the later word findë for “tress”.

ᴹQ. erkasse n. “holly”

A noun appearing as ᴹQ. erkasse “holly” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, derived from the root ᴹ√ERÉK “thorn” (Ety/ERÉK). In a rejected page from the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s, Tolkien had ᴹQ. erke “holly” derived from the same root (PE22/127). For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d stick to the (non-rejected) 1930s ercassë “holly”.

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa, Tolkien had ᴱQ. piosenna “holly”, a combination of ᴱQ. pio “berry” and ᴱQ. senna “red-brown” (QL/83; PME/83).

ᴱQ. filqe n. “fern”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. filqe “fern” in the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s, with variants filinqe and (dialectical) filimpe [probably Solosimpi/Telerin], all derived from the early root ᴱ√FILI “fine, thin” (QL/38).

Conceptual Development: The Declension of Nouns (DN) of the early 1930s had ᴹQ. filet (filek-) with glosses {“fern” >>} “cobweb” (PE21/33 note #123), and in later writings filit (filik-) was a word for “small bird, sparrow” (Ety/PHILIK; PE21/56).

Neo-Quenya: Since there are no later non-rejected words with this meaning, I would retain ᴺQ. filquë “fern” for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

ᴱQ. helilokte n. “wisteria, (lit.) purple cluster”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. helilokte “(purple cluster) wisteria” in the Qenya Lexicon, a combination of ᴱQ. helin “pansy [= purple flow]” and ᴱQ. lokte “(flower) cluster” (QL/39).

Neo-Quenya: Since I retain ᴺQ. helin “pansy” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would adapt this word as ᴺQ. helillos “wisteria, (lit.) purple cluster” using the later word lós “mass of flowers” for its second element.

ᴹQ. hwan (hwand-) n. “sponge, fungus”

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “sponge, fungus” derived from primitive ᴹ✶swanda under the root ᴹ√SWAD (Ety/SWAD). Its plural hwandi indicates a stem form of hwand-.

ᴱQ. orikon n. “heather”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. orikon “heather” in the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s based on the early root ᴱ√ORO¹ having to do with steep and rising things (QL/70; PME/70).

Neo-Quenya: Since √ORO “rise” survives in Tolkien’s later writings, I would retain ᴺQ. oricon “heather” for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

Q. pilinehtar n. “a reed-like plant, (lit.) ?arrow thorn”

Name of a reed-like plant in a drawing of Tolkien’s (TAI/199). Its initial element seems to be [ᴹQ.] pilin “arrow”, but the meaning of its section element is unclear. It might be a later variation on ᴱQ. pi(pi)nektar “hawthorn”, with a second element Q. ektar “thorn”.

ᴱQ. telumbe n. “mushroom, (lit.) fairy-canopy”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. telumbe “mushroom” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the root ᴱ√TELE “cover in”, along with a longer variant inwetelumbe where the initial element was ᴱQ. inwe “fairy” (QL/42), hence more properly “fairy-canopy” (QL/90).

Neo-Quenya: Since √TELU meant “roof in” in Tolkien’s later writings, I would retain ᴺQ. telumbë “mushroom” for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

ᴹQ. tussa n. “bush”

A noun for “bush” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶tussā under the root ᴹ√TUS (Ety/TUS).

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