cala ("k")noun "light" (KAL). Concerning the "Qenya" verb cala-, see #cal- above.
Quenya
calina
light
cala
light
cala
noun. light, light; [ᴱQ.] daytime (sunlight), 12 hours
This is the most common Quenya word for “light”, derived from the root √KAL of similar meaning (RGEO/62; PE17/84). It appears in numerous compounds, either in its full form or in a reduced form cal-.
Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. kala appeared all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “daytime (sunlight), 12 hours” and derived from the early root ᴱ√KALA “shine golden” (QL/44), but it had the sense “light” in the phrase ᴱQ. i·kal’antúlien “Light hath returned” (LT1/184), and it was given as the cognate of G. gala “light, daylight” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/37).
ᴹQ. kala “light” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√KAL “shine” (Ety/KAL). Somewhat curiously in that document its primitive form was given as ᴹ✶k’lā́ (EtyAC/KAL), a form that also appeared in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ1) from the 1930s (PE18/38). Tolkien may have used this variant form to explain N. glaw “radiance” (< ᴹ✶g’lā́), but in later writings S. glaw “sunshine” was derived from √LAW.
Derivations
- √KAL “light; shine, be bright, light; shine, be bright, [ᴱ√] shine golden” ✧ PE17/084
Element in
- Q. Anducal “*Light of the West”
- Q. Calacirya “Pass of Light” ✧ RGEO/62
- Q. calambar “*light-fated”
- Q. Calantar “Light-giver”
- Q. Calaquendi “Elves of the Light, (lit.) Light Elves”
- ᴺQ. calatengwë “photograph, (lit.) light-writing”
- Q. Calion “*Son of Light”
- Q. Caliondo
- Q. Calmacil “*Sword of Light, Shining Sword”
- Q. Calmindon “Light-tower”
- Q. Herucalmo
- ᴺQ. ruical(a) “firelight”
- Q. ú calo “without the light” ✧ PE17/143; VT39/14
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √CAL > Cala [kala] ✧ PE17/084 Variations
- Cala ✧ PE17/084; RGEO/62
cálë
light
cálë ("k")noun "light" (Markirya; in early "Qenya", cálë meant "morning", LT1:254)
cálë
noun. light
A noun for “light” appearing in the versions of the Markirya poem from the 1960s (MC/222-223).
Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱQ. kále “morning” was a derivative of the early root ᴱ√KALA “shine golden” (QL/44), and kāle was mentioned again Gnomish Lexicon Slips as a cognate of G. gaul “a light” (PE13/114). The form ᴱQ. kale “day” appeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, but was deleted (PE14/43). It might also be an element in ᴹQ. yúkale “twilight” (= “both lights”) from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/KAL).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d stick to the better attested Q. cala “light”.
Element in
- Q. cálë fifírula “the light fading” ✧ MC/222
Variations
- kále ✧ MC/222; MC/223
alalunga
adjective. light, unheavy
Elements
Word Gloss al(a)- “in-, un-, not; †-less, without” lungo “heavy”
calina ("k")adj. "light" (KAL), "bright" (VT42:32) "(literally illumined) sunny, light" (PE17:153) but apparently a noun "light" in coacalina, q.v.