Select Elvish Words 5.51: Bread

5.51 Bread

Q. coimas (*coimass-) n. “life-bread, lembas”

A Quenya term for “lembas” (Elven waybread) but of different etymological origins appearing in notes from the 1950s, a combination of √KOY “live” and a reduced form of massa or masta “bread” (PM/395, 403-4). As such, its stem form is likely to be either coimass- or coimast-; I prefer the first of these. Tolkien also had Q. lerembas in notes from the 1960s as a more direct cognate of S. lembas (PE17/51).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I’d stick to coimas, as the etymology of lerembas is rather muddled.

ᴱQ. korne n. “loaf”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. korne “loaf” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√KORO “be round, roll” (QL/48), likely referring to the round or cylindrical shape of a loaf.

Neo-Quenya: Since √KOR “round” survived in Tolkien’s later writings, I would retain ᴺQ. cornë “loaf” as well.

Q. háva n. “[unleavened] bread (collective)”

A collective word for “bread” appearing in notes on the origin of Elvish waybread written in 1968 (NM/295). It was derived from primitive ✶khābā which Tolkien said “originally applied to most vegetable foods, but after the coming of corn was restricted to those made from grain”. Tolkien also specified that the result of its baking was “(unleavened) bread”.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would reserve this word for unleavened flat bread, and would use massa for baked bread with yeast and coimas as the Quenya term for the more specialized Elvish waybread more typically known as [S.] lembas.

Q. havar n. “a loaf or cake of [unleavened] bread”

A word for a single loaf of háva “(unleavened) bread”, derived from primitive ✶khabar (NM/295). See the entry on háva for further discussion.

Q. massa n. “bread”

A word for “bread” appearing as massa (VT43/12) or massë (PE17/52) in Tolkien’s later writings, most notably as an element in Q. massánië “breadgiver” (PM/404). It was in competition with, and possibly replaced, the word masta “bread”. The distinction between the two was discussed in notes from 1960s (PE17/52):

Assume a Primitive Eldarin derivation *mbassē “(baked) bread”. The other derivatives were *mbasta with short final, an infinitive or verbal noun formation denoting a single action of the stem .. and *mbazdā denoting the passive result of the action, and when used substantivally a single product of this: mbazda would thus mean baked or a baked thing … In Quenya we have masse “bread” as a material, and masta “a cake or loaf” (zd > st).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I prefer to use massa as the typical word for “bread” rather than massë, to avoid conflict with other words like [ᴹQ.] masse “where”. I would also use masta as a more general word for baked goods, including bread but also other baked things like cakes and loafs.

Q. massánië n. “Lady, breadgiver”

A title for noble Elvish women as the keeper of the recipe for lembas (PM/404), a compound of Q. massa “bread” and an abstract form of anta- “give”. Christopher Tolkien suggested this term was probably inspired by the etymology of the English word “Lady”, derived from Old English “hlæfdige” meaning “kneader of bread” (PM/405 note #1).

Q. masta n. “bread, cake, loaf, *baked good”

This was the basic Quenya word for “bread” for much of Tolkien’s life, appearing as ᴱQ. masta “bread” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√M(B)ASA “cook, bake” (QL/59) and appearing again in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/141). It was ᴹQ. masta “bread” in The Etymologies under from the root ᴹ√MBAS “knead” (Ety/MBAS) and the word appeared again in sentences from the Quenya Verbal System written in 1948 (PE22/119).

Starting with Quenya prayers in the 1950s Tolkien began to experiment with other forms, however. In the Átaremma “prayer” Tolkien revised mastamma “our bread” to massamma in the final version of the prayer (VT43/11-12), and in notes on lembas from the late 1950s he had massánië “Lady, breadgiver” as the title of the keeper of lembas (PM/404). This change seems to have been inspired by the Sindarin word lembas itself, and the problem of how to explain its final s rather than st. In notes probably from the mid-1960s (PE17/51-52) Tolkien wrote:

lembas “waybread”. This seems meant to be associated with Primitive Eldarin stems *LED “go” and *MBAS “bake” but is not readily derived from them according to Sindarin developments. Something like *leðbast would be expected.

He resolved this quandary by separating the basic word for “bread” from masta:

Assume a Primitive Eldarin derivation *mbassē “(baked) bread”. The other derivatives were *mbasta with short final, an infinitive or verbal noun formation denoting a single action of the stem .. and *mbazdā denoting the passive result of the action, and when used substantivally a single product of this: mbazda would thus mean baked or a baked thing … In Quenya we have masse “bread” as a material, and masta “a cake or loaf” (zd > st).

Thus it seems that massa or massë was the word for “bread” (giving a clean explanation for the final s in lembas) while masta was a more general term for baked goods, including other items like cakes and loafs. Note, however, that Tolkien continued to use masta for “bread” in later sentences, including one in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969: vá matuvatyë mastanya “you are not to eat my bread” (PE22/162).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I prefer to use massa as the typical word for “bread” rather than massë, to avoid conflict with other words like [ᴹQ.] masse “where”. I reserve masta as a more general word for baked goods, including bread but also other baked things like cakes and loafs.

ᴱQ. mastakorne n. “[bread] loaf”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. mastakorne “loaf” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, a combination of ᴱQ. masta “bread” and ᴱQ. korne “loaf” (QL/59). In Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s, “loaf” was instead {korma >>} kormasta (PE16/141).

Neo-Quenya: Since the relevant roots √MBAS “bake” and √KOR “round” continue to appear in Tolkien’s later writings, I would retain ᴺQ. mastacornë “[bread] loaf” for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

N. basgorn [mb-] n. “loaf, [G.] loaf of bread, [ᴱN.] round loaf, cake”

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “loaf”, combination of N. bast “bread” and N. corn “round” (Ety/MBAS).

Conceptual Development: The word G. basgorn appeared in Gnomish Grammar and Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with the glosses “loaf” (GG/8), “a loaf” (GL/22), and “loaf of bread” (GL/26) as a combination of G. bast “bread” and G. corn “loaf”; in the last of these appearances its form was basgo(r)n indicating the r was optional. The word appeared as ᴱN. basgorn {“loaf” >>} “round loaf, cake” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/138).

S. bas(t) [mb-] n. “bread”

This was the word for “bread” in Sindarin and its conceptual precursors for much of Tolkien’s life, derived from the equally long-lived root √MBAS “bake”. The word dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s where G. bast “bread” was derived from the early root ᴱ√M(B)ASA “cook, bake” (GL/22). ᴱN. bast “bread” reappeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/138) and appeared again as N. bast “bread” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MBAS “knead” (Ety/MBAS).

It appeared without a final t in the Sindarin version of the Lord’s Prayer from the 1950s: anno ammen sír i mbas ilaurui vín “give us this day our daily bread” (VT44/21). However the t was restored in the phrase penim vast “we have no bread” from around 1959 (PE17/144). The late vacillations on the presence and absence of t are likely connected to Tolkien challenges with the derivation of lembas; see that entry for discussion. Likewise, the mutated forms mbas vs. vast indicate some late uncertainty on whether the primitive form began with mb- or b-.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would assume the normal form was bast “bread” from ancient mbasta, so that lenited forms show mb-.

S. lembas n. “waybread, journey-bread”

The name of the special bread used by Elves during travel, more literally “waybread”.

Conceptual Development: This word appeared as N. lembas “waybread” in a marginal entry to The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√LEN “(road?), way” [the first gloss is unclear], a variant of ᴹ√LED “go, fare, travel” (EtyAC/LEN). It second element was probably N. bast “bread” (Ety/MBAS). In the narratives themselves, the word lembas appeared in early drafts of Book 2, Chapter 8 “Farewell to Lórien” from The Lord of the Rings (TI/279), which is where it first appeared in the published version as well.

Possible Etymology: Although its second element was probably originally bast “bread”, it is not clear why this word was lembas and not lembast; Noldorin compounds usually retained final st, as in Orchrist and Camlost. The reduction of the st in lembas could be a remnant of earlier ideas; compare it to G. losbas “ryebread” = G. losc + G. bast from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/22, 54).

Nevertheless, Tolkien considered the etymology of lembas somewhat problematic in his later writings. In notes from the 1950s he derived it from OS. lenn-mbass “journey-bread” (PM/404). In notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from The Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s Tolkien derived lembas from lendbas where its initial element was lenda “journey” based on the root √LEN or √LED but he did not explain the second element (PE17/60). In notes from the mid-1960s Tolkien wrote:

lembas “waybread”. This seems meant to be associated with Primitive Eldarin stems *LED “go” and *MBAS “bake” but is not readily derived from them according to Sindarin developments. Something like *leðbast would be expected (PE17/51).

In these notes, Tolkien initially derived the word from ledme-mbasta but struggled to explain the reduction of st. He then started over, saying:

Simplify this thus: Assume a Primitive Eldarin derivation *mbassē, “(baked) bread” … Evidently lembas is an old compound < led(e)mbasse “bread taken on leaving home (for a long journey)”, the first element being the bare verbal stem. … lembas would be a reasonable Sindarin development in an obscured compound though leðbas would be expected if the stem √LED had remained in common use (PE17/52).

This revised etymology is more-or-less compatible with the 1950s derivation from OS. lenn-mbass, which is the derivation Christopher Tolkien presented in the Silmarillion Index (SI/lembas).