Taniquetil

high white horn

Taniquetil (Taniquetild-), place-name: the highest of the mountains of Valinor, upon which were the mansions of Manwë and Varda. Properly, this name refers to the topmost peak only, the whole mountain being called Oiolossë (SA:til). The Etymologies has Taniquetil, Taniquetildë ("q") (Ta-niqe-til) ("g.sg." Taniquetilden, in LotR-style Quenya this is the dative singular) "High White Horn" (NIK-W, TIL, TA/TA3, OY). Variant Taníquetil with a long í, translated "high-snow-peak"(PE17:26, 168).

taniquelassë

leaf

taniquelassë noun name of tree (UT:167), perhaps Tanique(til) + lassë "leaf"

cendë

point

cendë noun "point" (PE16:96)

cendë

noun. point

A word for “point” in the glossary for the 1950s version of the Nieninquë poem, an element in pirucendëa “on the point of her toes” (PE16/96).

Conceptual Development: The word pirucendëa is a reinterpretation of the word ᴱQ. pirukendea “tripping lightly, whirling lightly” = “pirouetting” from the version of Nieninqe from around 1930 (MC/215; QL/74). The derivation of 1950s cende “point” isn’t clear since in Tolkien’s later writings the root √KEN means “see”, but it might be a later iteration of the word ᴱQ. kent “a sharp point” from Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√KENYE “prick” (QL/46).

lassë

leaf

lassë noun "leaf"; pl. lassi is attested (Nam, RGEO:66, Letters:283, LAS1, LT1:254, VT39:9, Narqelion); gen. lassëo "of a leaf", gen. pl. lassion "of leaves" (earlier lassio) (WJ:407). The word lassë was only applied to certain kinds of leaves, especially those of trees (PE17:62), perhaps particularly _ear-shaped _leaves (cf. the entry _LAS1 _in the Etymologies, where Tolkien comments on the pointed or leaf-shaped Elvish ears and suggests an etymological connection between words for "ear" and "leaf"); see also linquë #3. Compound lasselanta "leaf-fall", used (as was quellë) for the latter part of autumn and the beginning of winter (Appendix D, Letters:428); hence Lasselanta alternative name of October (PM:135). Cf. also lassemista "leaf-grey, grey-leaved" (LotR2:III ch. 4, translated in Letters:224, PE17:62), lassewinta a variant of lasselanta (PM:376). Adj. laicalassë "green as leaves" (PE17:56). See also lillassëa, lantalasselingëa.

lassë

noun. leaf, leaf; [ᴱQ.] petal

The basic Quenya word for “leaf”, derived from the root √LAS (PE17/62, 153; VT39/9). This word dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s where ᴱQ. lasse “leaf” appeared as its own entry (QL/51). ᴹQ. lasse “leaf” also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√LAS (Ety/LAS¹). In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s Tolkien said that lasse meant both “a leaf or petal” (GL/52). After that Tolkien translated it only as “leaf”. In one set of later notes Tolkien said it was even more restricted in meaning, and “only applied to certain kinds of leaves, especially those of trees, and would not e.g. be used of leaf of a hyacinth (linque)” (PE17/62).

Neo-Quenya: Despite Tolkien late declaration, I would use lassë as the general “leaf” word for purposes of Neo-Quenya, though more specialized words may also exist such as linquë “(leaf of a) hyacinth”. I would also use it metaphorically in its Early Qenya sense as the “petal” of a flower where the context is very clear, such as lassi indilo “leaves of a lily” = “lily petals”. But where ambiguous, I would use the neologism ᴺQ. lótelas for “petal”, more literally “flower leaf”.

mentë

point, end

mentë noun "point, end" (MET)

tildë

noun. a fine sharp point, fine sharp point, [ᴹQ.] spike; (mountain) horn, [ᴱQ.] tip, peak

This word is most notable as the final element of the name Taniquetil “High White Peak”, a derivation Tolkien used for most of his life. In the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, Tolkien said tilde “is not a mountain peak, but a fine sharp point” (WJ/417). However, its primitive form tilde was glossed “peak” in notes from around 1965 (PE17/186), ᴹQ. tilde was glossed “spike, horn” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under from the root ᴹ√TIL “point, horn” (Ety/TIL; EtyAC/TIL), and ᴱQ. tilde “tip, peak” appeared in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s (PME/92), though it was merely “point” in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon under the early root ᴱ√TILI (QL/92).

Note that some of the above forms were presented incorrectly in their original publications. In The Etymologies as published in The Lost Road the gloss of tilde was given as “point, horn” identical to its root (LR/393), but Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne corrected this “spike, horn” in their Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies (VT46/19). The primitive form was given as tilte as originally published in Parma Eldalamberon #17 (PE17/186), but in a post to the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), Christopher Gilson corrected this to tilde: discord.com.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume tilde refers to a variety of pointy things of various sizes, including spikes, horns, and mountain peaks, especially if they are sharply pointed. In the case of mountains, I would further assume it refers to the tip or peak rather than the entire mountaion.

tillë

tip, point

tillë (pl. tilli given) noun "tip, point", used with reference to fingers and toes (VT47:10, 26); compare ortil, nútil, q.v.

tillë

noun. tip, point; [within compounds] finger, toe, tip, point; [within compounds] finger, toe; [ᴱQ.] eyelash

A word in notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s meaning “tip, point”, also used to refer to fingers and toes, especially in compounds (VT47/10). It was derived from the root √TIL. Drafts of these document instead had tile and tilma, of which Tolkien said:

> The difference between tilma, tile and inga was that the former could point in any direction, but inga was only applied to shapes pointing upwards and meant “top”; and whereas til- was usually applied to ends notably thinner and sharper than the stem, inga referred primarily to position and could be used of tops relatively broad (VT47/28).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. {tilme >> tilla >>} tille “eyelash” under the early root ᴱ√TILI (QL/92).

Neo-Quenya: Since tille referred to fingers and tilde to mountains, I would assume tille was more narrow and blunt, as opposed to tilde which was sharper and more angular. I would also use tille for “eyelash” as in Early Qenya, or less ambiguously ✱hentille.

tilma

noun. point