A PDF version of the article can be found here. The King’s Letter from the omitted epilogue to The Lord of the Rings, written in the early 1950s, is one of the most significant Sindarin texts, and a long-known one. There are four versions of the letter, which were published at
Revisiting Old Ideas about Word Order in Sindarin Sentences
When it comes to Sindarin syntax, very little is stated in Tolkien’s writings about sentence-wide structure. Tolkien went into depth on the structures of noun phrases, on the mutations that mark phrases, and so on. But sentence syntax? That’s always been a bit of a mystery. We’ve always known that
Select Elvish Words 9.87: Painting, Picture
9.87 Painting, Picture Q. emma n. “picture, *image” A word appearing in notes from 1967 as an element in indemma “mind-picture” and quantemma “facsimile, a complete detailed visual reproduction (by any means) of a visible thing” (PE17/174, 179), probably meaning “picture, *image” (the latter gloss suggested by Tamas Ferencz). It
Select Elvish Words 9.82-9.83: Sculptor, Statue
9.82 Sculptor Q. ondomaitar n. “sculptor in stone” A noun for a “sculptor in stone” in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957, a combination of ondo “stone” and maitar “artist” (PE17/163). Q. ontamo n. “mason ⚠️(sculptor)” A word a “mason (sculptor)” in notes from the late 1960s, a combination of ondo
Select Elvish Words 9.81: to Carve
9.81 to Carve ᴱQ. nyas n. “scratch, score, line, mark” A noun appearing as ᴱQ. nyas “scratch, score, line, mark” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with a stem form of nyast-, derived from the early root ᴱ√NYASA (QL/68). Neo-Quenya: I would retain ᴺQ. nyas “scratch, score, line, mark”
Select Elvish Words 9.76: Basket
9.76 Basket ᴹQ. kapsa n. “case, vessel, *container” A word in the Declension of Nouns (DN) from the early 1930s glossed “case, vessel” (PE21/20). It appeared in both a short form kas (kaps-) and longer kapsa (PE21/27). It might be derived from ᴹ√KAB “hollow” as suggested by Raccoon in a
Select Elvish Words 9.74: Glass
9.74 Glass Q. calca n. “glass” A word for “glass” appearing in notes from around 1968 as a derivative of √KALAK (VT47/35). Conceptual Development: There was a similar form ᴱQ. talqe (talqi-) “glass” in the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s (PME/88; QL/88). It
Select Elvish Words 9.71: Potter
9.71 Potter ᴹQ. kemnaro n. “potter” A word for “potter” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√KEM “soil, earth”, apparently an agental formation based on ᴹQ. kemna “of earth, earthen” (Ety/KEM). It was first written as ᴹQ. {kemenāro}, and there was a line drawn from kemnaro to
Select Elvish Words 9.68-9.69: Lead, Tin
9.68 Lead ᴱQ. kanu n. “lead [metal]” A word appearing as ᴱQ. kanu “lead” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√KANA (QL/44). It was also identified as the source of the k in the name of the magical metal ᴱQ. Tilkal (LT1/100). Neo-Quenya: I retain
Select Elvish Words 9.67: Iron
9.67 Iron Q. anga n. “iron” This was the Quenya word for “iron” for much of Tolkien’s life, derived from primitive ✶angā of the same meaning (PM/347). Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. anga “iron” dates back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/31). In this document it had some competing alternatives: