1.71 Air, Ether ᴱQ. vilina adj. “airy, breezy; light [weight?]” The adjective ᴱQ. {vilna >>} vilina “airy, breezy, light” appeared the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as a derivative of the early root ᴱ√VILI (QL/101). The forms vílyava or vílina “airy” appeared in the English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s, but
Select Elvish Words
Studies on selected elvish words to sort out their semantics.
Select Elvish Words 1.63: Shade, Shadow
1.63 Shade, Shadow Q. hala n. “cast shadow, *shade” A Quenya word meaning “a cast shadow” appearing in two forms, hala and (archaic) †ixal, both cognates to S. esgal and derived from the root √SKAL “cover, veil, cloak, conceal” (PE17/184). The form hala is the normal development from primitive ✶skalā
Select Elvish Words 1.62-1.622: Darkness, Dark, Murky
1.62 Darkness Q. huinë n. “gloom, (unrelieved) darkness, deep shadow, ⚠️night shade; dark (as a substance)” A word for “gloom” and “unrelieved darkness” such as a night without stars or moon (VT41/8), with an archaic form †fuinë [ɸuine] (PE19/71). In one place Tolkien said it is was used of darkness
Select Elvish Words 1.61: Light
1.61 Light ᴹQ. alka n. “ray of light, ⚠️[ᴱQ.] light of day; shining” A word for “ray of light” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√AKLA-R (Ety/AKLA-R). Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. alka “ray” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as a derivative of the early
Select Elvish Words 1.56: Noise, Thunder
1.56 Noise, Thunder ᴱQ. fundu- vb. “?to thunder” An unglossed verb form ᴱQ. fundu- or funduna- appearing drafts of the Oilima Markirya from around 1930, appearing only in inflected forms like funduváre (future) or fundunár (PE16/57, 60). Gilson, Welden and Hostetter suggest that it might have been an onomatopoeic verb
Select Elvish Words 1.55: Flash, Lightning
1.55 Flash, Lightning Q. alca- vb. “to glitter, *shine out, flash” A verb for “glitter” in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) written around 1950 (PE18/87). Its ancient form ✶ak’la- was glossed “shine out, flash”, an abnormal vocalization of the verbal root √KAL “shine”, where Tolkien said “these formations
Select Elvish Words 1.54-1.542: Star, Starlight
1.54 Star Q. †él n. “star” An archaic or poetic word for star (WJ/362), somewhat common in compounds but in ordinary speech typically appearing as elen. It was derived directly from the primitive root √EL “behold”, the basis for other star words (PM/340; WJ/360). Conceptual Development: This word first appeared
Select Elvish Words 1.52-1.53: Sun, Moon
1.52 Sun Q. Anar n. “Sun” The most common Quenya name for the Sun derived from primitive ✶Anār, an augmented form of the root √NAR “fire” (Let/425; PE17/38; Ety/ANÁR; SD/302, 306). Conceptual Development: This term appeared in Silmarillion drafts of the 1930s with the gloss “Heart of Flame” (LR/240) and
Select Elvish Words 1.51: Sky, Heavens
1.51 Sky, Heavens Q. fanyarë n. “the skies (not heaven or firmament), the upper airs and clouds” A noun used in the 1960s version of the Markirya poem described as “the skies — not heaven or firmament — the upper airs and clouds” (MC/222-223). It is a (singular) abstract noun
Select Elvish Words 1.46: Cave
1.46 Cave Q. felco n. “cave, mine, underground dwelling” A word for “cave, mine, underground dwelling” Tolkien considered in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957, derived from the root √PHELEK as a possible replacement of felya “mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwel[ling]” < ✶phelgā (PE17/118). Neo-Quenya: I prefer the root form