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.
Quenya
alqua
noun. swan
alqua
swan
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
Derivations
Element in
- Q. Alqualondë “Haven of the Swans” ✧ SA/alqua; UT/265
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶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
swan