lamba (2) noun ?"hammer" (possibly an alternative form of namba, q.v., but the source is obscure and namba is to be preferred) (VT45:37)
Quenya
lamba
tongue
lamba
hammer
lamba
noun. (physical) tongue
A word for the physical tongue appearing in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, derived from primitive ✶lab-mā = “✱lick-thing” (WJ/394, 416). It was distinct from Q. lambë “tongue” = “language” (WJ/394). ᴹQ. lamba “tongue” also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√LAB “lick” (Ety/LAB), where it was likewise distinct from ᴹQ. lambe “language”, as in ᴹQ. parmalambe “book-language” (Ety/PAR).
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶lambā > lamba [lambā] > [lamba] ✧ WJ/394 ✶lab-mā > lamba [labmā] > [lambā] > [lamba] ✧ WJ/416
lambe
noun. tongue
lambë
tongue, language
lambë noun "tongue, language" (the usual word for 'language' in non-technical use) (WJ:368, 394, ÑGAL/ÑGALAM), "the language or dialect of a particular country or people...never used for 'language' in general, but only for particular forms of speech" (VT39:15); also name of tengwa #27 (Appendix E). (In early "Qenya", lambë was defined as "tongue" of body, but also of land, or even = "speech" [LT2:339]. In LotR-style Quenya lambë only means "tongue = speech", whereas the word for a physical tongue is lamba.) Lambë Valarinwa "Valarin tongue" (WJ:397), lambë Quendion "the language of the Elves" (PM:395), Lambengolmor pl. noun "Loremasters of Tongues", a school founded by Fëanor (WJ:396); sg. #Lambengolmo. Spelt Lambeñgolmor in VT48:6.
namba
hammer
namba noun "a hammer" (NDAM), namba- vb. "to hammer" (NDAM). According to VT45:37, Tolkien may have considered the alternative form lamba, but the source is obscure and lamba is assigned a quite different meaning ("tongue") elsewhere.
quetil
tongue, language
quetil ("q")noun "tongue, language" (KWET)
lamba (1) noun "tongue" (physical tongue, while lambë = "language") (WJ:394, LAB; according to VT45:25, Tolkien first wrote lambe, but as noted, this alternative form is rather used for "tongue" in the sense of "language")