14.74 Winter
- Q. hrívë n. “winter”
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The Quenya word for “winter”, both casually as well as a specific 72 day period in the the calendar of Imladris (LotR/1107, 1111).
Conceptual Development: This word also appeared in drafts of The Lord of the Rings appendices along with a variant ᴹQ. Fírien “Winter” (PM/134), probably based on fir- “fade”. The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. hesin “winter” under the early root ᴱ√HESE “wither” (QL/40) and ᴱQ. ’Yelin (’Yelim-) “Winter” under the early root ᴱ√DẎELE having to do with cold things (QL/106).
14.75 Spring
- Q. coirë n. “stirring, early spring; ⚠️[ᴱQ.] life”
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The Quenya word for a specific 54 day period in the calendar of Imladris used for the “first beginning of Spring” (SA/cuivië), more properly meaning “stirring” (LotR/1107). It is likely derived from √KOY having to do with life.
Conceptual Development: This word was first used for early spring in drafts of The Lord of the Rings appendices (PM/134). In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱQ. koire was glossed “life” under the early root ᴱ√KOẎO (QL/48), though it had other variants in the 1910s-20s: koi (QL/48), koile (PE13/141), and koito (PE16/60), the last one unglossed and thus possibly of a different meaning.
- Q. tuilë n. “spring, [ᴹQ.] spring-time, ⚠️[ᴱQ.] (lit.) a budding; buds, new shoots, fresh green”
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The usual Quenya word for “spring”, both as a general word for the season as well as the name of a specific 54 day period in the calendar of Imladris (LotR/1107, 1111). It is derived from √TUY having to do with sprouting (VT39/7; PE19/54; Ety/TUY).
Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where ᴱQ. tuile was glossed “spring” under the early root ᴱ√TUẎU, but more literally meant “a budding” or (when used collectively) “buds, new shoots, fresh green” (QL/96). It reappeared regularly in Tolkien’s later writings as the normal word for “spring-time” or “spring” as a season.
- Q. tuilérë n. “*spring-day”
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A holiday inserted between Súlimë (March) and Víressë (April) in the Steward’s Reckoning to help bring the calendar up to 365 days, since months in that calendar are always 30 days (LotR/1109). It is a combination of tuilë “spring” and ré “day”.
Conceptual Development: Drafts of The Lord of the Rings appendices instead had two spring days at the beginning of the year called ᴹQ. Tuilear, where the second element was probably ᴹQ. are “day” (PM/133-134). In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱQ. Tuilére was a word for “the Spring”, along with a shorter and archaic variant †Tui, both under the early root ᴱ√TUẎU (QL/96).
14.76 Summer
- Q. lairë n. “summer”
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The Quenya word for “summer”, both casually as well as a specific 72 day period in the the calendar of Imladris (LotR/1107, 1111). It was derived from the root √LAY having to do with life and flourishing (Let/282; PE17/159; PE18/97).
Conceptual Development: This word also appeared in drafts of The Lord of the Rings appendices along with a variant ᴹQ. Úrien “Summer” (PM/134), probably based on Ûr “Sun” or “heat”. ᴹQ. laire “summer” also appeared in a marginal note to the The Etymologies of the 1930s, derived from ᴹ√LAYA (EtyAC/LAYA).
The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. austa “(high) summer” under the early root ᴱ√AWA “burn; be parched” (QL/33) and ᴱQ. saiwali “Summer” under the early root ᴱ√SAH(Y)A “be hot”, apparently a plural of ᴱQ. saiwa “hot” (QL/81). The form ᴱQ. avesta appeared in Early Noldorin word-lists of the 1920s as a cognate of ᴱN. awest “summer” (PE13/137, 160).
14.77 Autumn
- Q. lasselanta n. “(late) autumn, (lit.) leaf-fall; ⚠️[ᴹQ.] October”
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The Quenya word for “the fall” as a time of year, a combination of lassë “leaf” and lanta “fall”, so more literally “leaf-fall” (LotR/1107). Strictly speaking, it is not the equivalent of yávië “autumn” [= “harvest”], but covers the period of late autumn through early winter, also known as quellë (LotR/1111).
Conceptual Development: The use of this word as a word for “Autumn” dates back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where ᴱQ. lasselanta was glossed “the Fall, Autumn” (QL/51). ᴹQ. lasselanta “leaf-fall, Autumn” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the same derivation as given above (Ety/DAT; Ety/LAS¹). In drafts of The Lord of the Rings appendices Tolkien briefly considered Lasselanta as an alternate name for October (PM/135), but elsewhere it consistently referred to autumn as a season.
- Q. lassewinta n. “leaf fall, autumn, *(lit.) leaf blowing”
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An alternate name for “the fall” appearing in notes from the late 1960s as a combination of lassë “leaf” and winta “scatter, blow about” (PM/376 note #24).
- Q. quellë n. “late autumn and early winter, (lit.) fading”
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The Quenya word for a specific 54 day period in the calendar of Imladris used for late autumn and early winter (LotR/1111), more properly meaning “fading” (LotR/1107). It seems to be a noun form of quel- “to fade”. It is also used as the equivalent of lasselanta “the fall”.
Conceptual Development: The word Quellë was first used for autumn in drafts of The Lord of the Rings appendices (PM/134).
- Q. yávië n. “autumn, harvest [time or act]”
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A word translated “autumn, harvest” in The Lord of the Rings appendices (LotR/1111), clearly based on yávë “fruit”. This word refers to a specific 54 day period in the calendar of Imladris (LotR/1107), but can be used more casually for the autumn time of the year (LotR/1111). Given its second gloss “harvest”, I think it can also refer to the time or act of harvesting of crops. However, for the harvest itself (the produce) I would instead use [ᴺQ.] salcessë.
Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. Yāvan “(Autumn), Harvest” based on ᴱQ. yāva “fruit, produce” (QL/105). The English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s also had ᴱQ. yávan “autumn, harvest”, but in that document the word was deleted (PE15/69).
- Q. yáviérë n. “*autumn-day”
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A holiday inserted between Yavannië (September) and Narquelië (October) in the Steward’s Reckoning to help bring the calendar up to 365 days, since months in that calendar are always 30 days (LotR/1109). It is a combination of yávië “autumn” and ré “day”.
Conceptual Development: In drafts of The Lord of the Rings appendices there were two extra days called ᴹQ. Koirear “Stirring-days” at the end of the year (PM/133-134), apparently a compound of koire “stirring” and are “day”.