10.82 Sailor Q. ciryamo n. “mariner” A word for a “mariner” in the title Indis i·Ciryamo “The Mariner’s Wife” (UT/8), a combination of cirya “ship” with the agental suffix -mo. Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. veniel “mariner” as an elaboration of ᴱQ. vene “small boat”
Select Elvish Words
Studies on selected elvish words to sort out their semantics.
Select Elvish Words 10.81: Ship
10.81 Ship Q. cirya n. “(sharp-prowed) ship, ⚠️[ᴹQ.] boat; [Q.] swift gliding” Cirya has been the Quenya word for “ship” for much of Tolkien’s life, and is very well-attested with this meaning. ᴱQ. kirya “ship” first appeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/46, 79) and in the
Select Elvish Words 10.75-10.78: Cart, Wheel, Axle, Yoke
10.75 Cart, Wagon, Carriage Q. lunca n. “heavy transport wain” A word for a “heavy transport wain” in notes from the late 1960s with variant forms lunka and luqa, both derived from primitive ✶lukma [“*drag-thing”] based on the root √LUK “haul, drag” (PE17/28). The form lunka [lunca] shows metathesis of
Select Elvish Words 10.73-10.74: Street, Bridge
10.73 Street ᴹQ. malle n. “street, (made or stone) road” A word for “street” appearing in Tolkien’s writings of the 1910s-40s. ᴱQ. malle “street” first appeared [albiet marked with “?”] in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√MALA¹ “crush, squeeze, pulp” (QL/58), and in early names
Select Elvish Words 10.72: Path
10.72 Path Q. men n. “way, *direction; [ᴹQ.] place, spot [in compounds only]” A noun or word element, most notably appearing in the four cardinal directions formen, hyarmen, númen, and rómen, which Christopher Tolkien translated as “way” in The Silmarillion appendix (SA/men). This is consistent with the later meaning of
Select Elvish Words 10.71: Road
10.71 Road ᴱQ. aldeon n. “avenue (of trees)” A word appearing as ᴱQ. aldeon (aldeond-) “avenue of trees” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s based on ᴱQ. alda “tree” (QL/29). In the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa it was simply glossed “avenue”. Neo-Quenya: Since alda “tree” remains
Select Elvish Words 10.66-10.67: to Ride; to Push, Shove
10.66 to Ride ᴱQ. lehesta v. “ride, riding, raid” A noun appearing as ᴱQ. lehesta “riding, raid” in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/45, 75). In the contemporaneous English-Qenya Dictionary, it was lehesta or lehtasta “ride” based on the verb ᴱQ. lehe or lehta “ride” (PE16/132). Neo-Quenya: For
10.645 to Wander, Stray
10.645 to Wander, Stray ᴹQ. mista- v. “to stray about” A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “stray about” derived from the root ᴹ√MIS “go free, stray, wander” (Ety/MIS). ᴹQ. ráne n. “straying, wandering” A noun [probably] in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “straying, wandering” derived from
Select Elvish Words 10.63-10.64: to Send; to Lead
10.63 to Send Q. lelta- v. “to send, *(lit.) cause to go” A verb for “send” appearing in its past form in the phrase yenna leltanelyes “to whom you sent him” in notes from the late 1960s (VT47/21). The word in the sentence is the 2nd-sg-polite past form with a
Select Elvish Words 10.61-10.62: to Bear, Carry; to Bring
10.61 to Bear, Carry Q. col- v. “to bear, *carry, wear” A verb for “to bear” implied by the existence of the root √KOL “bear, carry, wear” (PE17/158; PE22/155), as well as verbal nouns like colindo “bearer” (LotR/953), cólima “bearable” (PE22/155) and coloitë “capable of bearing” (PE22/155). Neo-Quenya: The use