3.811 Spider ᴹQ. liante n. “spider, ⚠️[ᴱQ.] tendril, vine” A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “spider” derived from the root ᴹ√SLIG with various other derivatives having to do with webs and fine threads (Ety/SLIG). Most notably it was the second element in the name ᴹQ. Ungoliante “Gloomweaver”
Select Elvish Words
Studies on selected elvish words to sort out their semantics.
Select Elvish Words 3.81: Insect
3.81 Insect ᴱQ. malo n. “moth” A noun appearing as ᴱQ. malo “moth” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s derived from primitive ᴱ✶[mal]wǝ under the early root ᴱ√MALA “crush, squeeze, pulp” (QL/58). It had a plural malwi, and in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa it was given
Select Elvish Words 3.79: to Hunt
3.79 to Hunt ᴹQ. fafarra- vb. “*to keep on hunting” A frequentative form of ᴹQ. fara- appearing in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 (PE22/112), hences meaning something like “*to keep on hunting”. It replaced an archaic form †papharra-. Q. fara- vb. “to hunt” A verb for “to hunt”
Select Elvish Words 3.75: Deer, Elephant, Camel
3.75 Deer S. aras n. “deer, hart, *stag” A word in the name Cabed-en-Aras “Deer’s Leap” (S/224; UT/150). Its primitive form ✶aras(sō) was translated “hart” (PE21/82), so this word probably refers to a male deer. 3.77 Elephant ᴹQ. andamunda n. “elephant” A noun for “elephant” in The Etymologies of the
Select Elvish Words 3.72-3.74: Lion, Bear, Fox
3.72 Lion Q. rá (ráv-) n. “lion” An archaic word for “lion” mentioned in the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the 1950s, versus more common Q. rauro (PE19/99, 104). Conceptual Development: This word has a lengthy history in Tolkien’s conception of Elvish, dating all the way back to ᴱQ. rau
Select Elvish Words 3.71: Wolf
3.71 Wolf ᴹQ. húna- n. “to howl” The deleted verb ᴹQ. hūna- “howl” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the deleted root ᴹ√ÑO, replacing ñōna- “groan” (EtyAC/ÑŌ²). Neo-Quenya: Since the root ᴹ√ÑO seems to have become √ÑGAW “howl”, I would revise this verb to ᴺQ. nauna- for purposes
Select Elvish Words 3.65: Fish
3.65 Fish Q. ?fanto n. “whale” This word only appears in the name of the Númenórean ship Turuphanto “Wooden-whale” (UT/191). The language of the name is unclear, but Carl Hostetter suggested (Tolklang/5.31) that the name is likely to be Quenya, since ᴱQ. turu meant “wood”. If so, the second element
Select Elvish Words 3.649: Bird (other)
3.649 Bird (other) ᴹQ. ambale n. “yellow bird, yellow hammer” A word for a yellow bird in The Etymologies of the 1930s, apparently the species yellowhammer, derived from ᴹ✶asmalē as an elaboration of the root ᴹ√SMAL “yellow” (Ety/SMAL). Tolkien later changed this root to √MAL, but ammale might still be
Select Elvish Words 3.647-3.648: Gull, Petrel, Swan
3.647 Gull, Petrel Q. maiwë n. “gull” A noun for “gull” appearing in its plural form maiwi in the Q. Markirya poem of the 1960s (MC/222). In the The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. maiwe “gull” was derived from the root ᴹ√MIW “whine” (Ety/MIW). Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon
Select Elvish Words 3.641-3.642: Eagle, Hawk, Crow
3.641 Eagle, Hawk ᴹQ. fion (fiond-) n. “hawk, ⚠️haste” A word in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√PHI and the basis for the name ᴹQ. Fionwe (Ety/PHI). As described by Christopher Tolkien, the gloss of this word is unclear and might be “haste” or “hawk” (LR/381),