14.79 Festival, Holiday
- Q. asar [þ] n. “fixed time, festival”
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A word for a “festival” as a “fixed time” in the calendar (so likely one occurring on a specific schedule), adapted from the Valarin word aþāra “appointed” (WJ/399). It may be contrasted with [ᴹQ.] meren(de) “feast, festival” for a celebration occurring at any time.
Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. kalende “festival, a special day” under the early root ᴱ√KALA¹, possibly a noun form of ᴱQ. kalenda “of the day; daily” (QL/44). The contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa gave kalende only the gloss “festival” (PME/44).
- Q. loëndë n. “mid-year (Númenórean calendar), *(lit.) year-middle”
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A holiday occurring in the middle of year between the sixth and seventh months originating in the Númenórean calendar (LotR/1108). It is a combination of löa “year” and endë “middle”.
- ᴹQ. meren(de) (merend-) n. “feast, festival”
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A noun for “feast, festival” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√M(B)ER (Ety/MBER). It had a longer form merende, and a stem form of {mern- >>} merend- (Ety/MBER; EtyAC/MBER).
- ᴹQ. merya adj. “festive”
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An adjective for “festive” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√M(B)ER (Ety/MBER).
- ᴹQ. meryale n. “holiday”
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A word for “holiday” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, a noun form of merya “festive” (Ety/MBER).
- S. mereth n. “feast, [N.] festival”
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A word for “feast” as an element in names like Mereth Aderthad “Feast of Reuniting” (S/113) and Merethrond “Great Hall of Feasts” (LotR/975).
Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s first had N. mereth “feast, festival” under the root ᴹ√MER, but these were revised to N. bereth and ᴹ√MBER (Ety/MBER). However, as pointed out by Christopher Tolkien his father retained mereth in the later narratives.
The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. dulwen “feast” based on a (hypothetical) early root ᴱ√DULU having to do with dining (GL/31).