Quenya 

alqua

noun. swan

swan

Quenya [PE 18:100] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

alqua

swan

alqua noun "swan" _(ÁLAK [there spelt _alqa, as in LT1:249/LT2:335], SA:alqua, UT:265, VT42:7). The alternative form alquë ("q") mentioned in early material (LT1:249) may or may not be valid in LotR-style Quenya.

alqua

noun. swan

The Quenya noun for “swan” derived from primitive ✶alkwā (NM/378; PE18/100; UT/265; Ety/ÁLAK).

Conceptual Development: The word ᴱQ. alqa dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where it was a derivative of the early root ᴱ√ḶKḶ (QL/30), though it had a variant form alqe in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/18). Other than this one exception, Tolkien stuck with alqua throughout his life. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. alqa “swan” appeared under the root ᴹ√ALAK “rushing” (Ety/ÁLAK).

Cognates

  • S. alph “swan” ✧ NM/378; SA/alqua; UT/265; VT42/07
  • T. alpa “swan” ✧ UT/265

Derivations

  • ✶alkwā “swan” ✧ NM/378; PE18/100; UT/265; VT42/07
    • √ALAK “rushing, rushing, [ᴹ√] swift” ✧ PE18/100
  • √ALAK “rushing, rushing, [ᴹ√] swift” ✧ SA/alqua

Element in

  • Q. Alqualondë “Haven of the Swans” ✧ SA/alqua; UT/265

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
✶alkwā > alqua[alkwā] > [alkwa]✧ NM/378
✶álkwā > alqua[alkwā] > [alkwa]✧ PE18/100
√alak- > alqua[alakwā] > [alkwā] > [alkwa]✧ SA/alqua
✶alkwa > alqua[alkwa]✧ UT/265
✶alkwa > alqua[alkwa]✧ VT42/07
Quenya [NM/378; PE18/100; SA/alqua; UT/265; VT42/07] Group: Eldamo. Published by