Select Elvish Words: 14.15 Old

14.15 Old

Q. enwina adj. “old”

A word for “old” appearing in the version of the Markirya poem from the 1960s (MC/222). It might be related to Q. enwa “yet”.

Conceptual Development: The ᴱQ. Oilima Markirya poem from around 1930 had ᴱQ. aire “old”. The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had similarly formed ᴱQ. haura as the cognate of G. hôr “old, aged, ancient (only of things still existing)” based on primitive ᴱ✶χou̯-ră (GL/49).

ᴹQ. linyenwa adj. “old, having many years”

A word in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “old, having many years”, a combination of ᴹQ. li(n)- “many” and an adjectival form of ᴹQ. yén “year” (Ety/YEN).

ᴹQ. yalúmea adj. “olden”

A word in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “olden”, an adjectival form of ᴹQ. yalúme “former times” (Ety/YA).

Q. yára adj. “old, ancient, [ᴹQ.] belonging to or descending from former times”

The usual Quenya word for “old” appearing in numerous places (RC/579.0903; VT49/40; Ety/YA.030; PE22/21, 119). In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹQ. yára was glossed “ancient, belonging to or descending from former times” and was derived from the root ᴹ√YA “there, over there; of time, ago” (Ety/YA).

ᴹQ. yárea adj. “olden”

A word for “olden” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, and adjectival form of ᴹQ. yáre “former days” (Ety/YA).

ᴹQ. yerna adj. “old, worn”

An adjective in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “old, worn” derived from primitive ✶gyernā “old, worn, decrepit (of things)” under the root ᴹ√GYER (Ety/GYER).

ᴹQ. yerya- adj. “to wear (out), get old”

A verb for “to wear (out), get old” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√GYER (Ety/GYER).

N. brûn adj. “old (has long endured, been established, or been in use)”

An adjective in The Etymologies of the 1930s meaning “old” in the sense “that [which] has long endured, or been established, or in use”. It is derived from primitive ✶b’rōnā under the root ᴹ√BORÓN (Ety/BORÓN).

S. einior adj. “elder”

A word meaning “elder” in notes from the late 1960s (PM/358). It is likely a combination of an intensive prefix an- with iaur “old”, followed by some i-affection and the change of au to o in the final syllable.

N. gern adj. “worn, old, decrepit (of things)”

An adjective in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “worn, old (of things)” derived from primitive ✶gyernā “old, worn, decrepit (of things)” under the root ᴹ√GYER (Ety/GYER). This word was also mention under the root ᴹ√YA where it was glossed “old (decrepit, worn) of things” (Ety/YA; EtyAC/YA). Under ᴹ√YA it was incorrectly written gem in The Etymologies as published in The Lost Road (LR/399), but was corrected to gern by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne in their Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies (VT46/22).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. dribin “worn out” based on G. drib- “rot, decay, wear out” (GL/30).

G. hortha- v. “to grow old, *age”

A word appearing as hortha- “grow old” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, a verb form of G. hôr “old, aged, ancient” (GL/49).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would update this word to ᴺS. iortha- “to grow old, *age” using the later word S. iaur for “old”.

S. iaur adj. “old; [N.] ancient, olden”

The usual Sindarin word for “old” appearing in many places (RC/523, 579; SA/iaur; UT/384; WJ/192; Ety/GENG-WĀ, YA). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. iaur was glossed “ancient, old(en)” and derived from the root ᴹ√YA “there, over there; of time, ago” (Ety/YA). In the entry for ᴹ√GENG-WĀ Tolkien specified that iaur “did not connote weakness” (Ety/GENG-WĀ), likely because the Elves did not significantly weaken as they grew older.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. hôr “old, aged, ancient” derived from primitive ᴱ✶χou̯-ră (GL/49). The Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s had ᴱN. sair “aged, ancient” (PE13/165).

S. ifant adj. “[N.] aged, having lived long, (lit.) year-full”

A word in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “aged, having lived long”, a combination of în “year” and pant “full” so more literally “year-full” (Ety/GENG-WĀ, YEN; EtyAC/YEN). This word reappeared (untranslated) in Silmarillion drafts from the 1950s in the name Torhir Ifant (WJ/192).

N. ingem adj. “old (in mortal sense), suffering from old age, decrepit, (lit.) year-sick”

A word in The Etymologies of the 1930s meaning “old (in mortal sense), suffering from old age, decrepit”, a combination of în “year” and gem “sickly” so more literally “year sick” (Ety/GENG-WĀ, YA, YEN). It may be contrasted with words like iaur “old” and ifant “year-full” which both mean “old” without the connotation of weakness, representing the difference in aging between Men and Elves.

S. ioron n. “old man”

A word for an “old man” in notes from around 1969 (PE23/139), an agental form of iaur for “old”.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had horweg “an ancient, old man”, a combination of G. hôr “old, aged, ancient” with the masculine suffix G. -weg (GL/49). The Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s had ᴱN. sairweg “old man, sage” based on ᴱN. sair “aged, ancient” (PE13/165).