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”.

Cognates

• S. lass “leaf, leaf; [G.] petal” ✧ Let/282; PE17/062
• Nan. las “leaf” ✧ Let/382

Derivations

• ✶lassē “leaf” ✧ Let/282; PE19/106; PE19/106; VT39/09
  • √LAS “leaf” ✧ PE17/153; VT39/09

Element in

• Q. ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen “ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind” ✧ LotR/0377; RGEO/58
• Q. ai! lassi lantar laurië súrinen “ah! leaves fall golden in [by means of] the wind” ✧ RGEO/58
• Q. laicalassë “green-leaf, green as leaves”
• ᴺQ. lassëa “with leaves, leafy”
• Q. lasselanta “(late) autumn, (lit.) leaf-fall, (late) autumn, (lit.) leaf-fall; [ᴹQ.] October” ✧ LotR/1107
• Q. Lassemista “Leaf-Grey”
• Q. lassewinta “leaf fall, autumn, *(lit.) leaf blowing”
• Q. lillassëa “having many leaves”
• ᴺQ. lótelas “petal, (lit.) flower-leaf”
• ᴺQ. nornolassëa “having oak-leaves”
• Q. olass(i)ë “foliage, collection of leaves”
• ᴺQ. parmalas(së) “page, (lit.) leaf of book”
• Q. táli lantalasselingië “*with feet like the music of falling leaves” ✧ PE16/096; PE16/096
• Q. taniquelassë “*high-white-leaf”
• ᴺQ. tyávelassë “spice, (lit.) taste-leaf”
• ᴺQ. yullas “tea”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶lassē > lasse	[lassē] > [lasse]	✧ Let/282
✶lassḗi > lássei > lassī	[lassei] > [lassī] > [lassi]	✧ PE19/106
✶lasséinen > lassēnen > lassī́nen	[lasseinen] > [lassīnen]	✧ PE19/106
✶lassē > lasse	[lassē] > [lasse]	✧ VT39/09

Variations

• lasse ✧ Let/282; LotR/1107; PE16/096; PE16/096; PE17/062; PE17/062; Plotz/11; VT39/09

hlas

ear

hlas noun "ear", stem hlar- as in the dual form hlaru (PE17:62). Compare lár #2.

hlas

noun. ear

The Quenya word for “ear” is derived from primitive √S-LAS, an elaboration of √LAS “listen” (PE17/62, 77). It had a stem form of hlar- because medial s generally became z and then r, but the s was preserved when final.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s the word for “ear” was derived directly from ᴹ√LAS “listen”, and had the form lár (Ety/LAS²). This seems to be a brief reversion to Early Qenya phonology of the 1910s, where medial s survived and it was final s that became r (PE12/26); compare to ᴹQ. kár (kas-) “head”, also from The Etymologies (Ety/KAS). In that document, the Noldorin word for “ear” was N. lhewig, a singular form based on the fossilized dual lhaw (Ety/LAS²). The voiceless lh- in this word was the result of the Noldorin sound-change of the 1930s whereby ancient initial r-, l- were unvoiced.

This Noldorin word made it into Lord of the Rings drafts as part of Amon Lhaw “Hill of Hearing, (lit.) Hill of Ears” (TI/364), a form that Tolkien retained in the published version (LotR/393). Since the unvoicing of initial l was no longer a feature of Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s, Tolkien needed to contrive a new derivation from primitive √S-LAS, which also necessitated a change in the Quenya cognate to voiceless initial hl-.

Early Qenya words for “ear” from the 1910s had a completely different basis. They include ᴱQ. ankar (ankas-) “ear (of men)”, ᴱQ. qan (qand-) “ear”, and ᴱQ. unk (unq-) “ear (of animals)” from the Qenya Lexicon, all based on the root ᴱ√ṆQṆ (QL/31, 76, 98). The last of these reappeared as unko “ear” in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s and contemporaneous word lists (PE14/52, 76, 117; PE15/71), but seems to have been abandoned by the 1930s.

Cognates

• S. lheweg “ear” ✧ PE17/062; PE17/062; PE17/077

Derivations

• √SLAS “ear” ✧ PE17/062
• ✶slas “ear” ✧ PE17/077
  • √SLAS “ear”

Element in

• ᴺQ. hlarma “earpiece, receiver”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√S-LAS > hlas	[slas] > [l̥as]	✧ PE17/062
✶slasū > hlaru	[slasū] > [l̥asū] > [l̥azū] > [l̥azu] > [l̥aru]	✧ PE17/077

taniquelassë

leaf

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

lasta-

verb. to listen, to listen; [ᴹQ.] to hear

Cognates

• S. lasta- “to listen, give ear” ✧ PE17/046

Derivations

• √LAS “listen” ✧ PE17/046

Element in

• Q. asalastë “easily heard”
• Q. sustanë Manwëo súlë ten i indo Sindicollo ar he lastanë ar carnes “*the spirit of Manwe blew unto the heart of Thingol and he listened and did it” ✧ NM/239

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√LAS > lasta-	[lasta-]	✧ PE17/046

lár

ear

lár (2) noun "ear" (?). Tolkien's wording is not clear, but ¤lasū is given as an ancient dual form "(pair of) ears"; Quenya lár could represent the old singular las- (LAS2). In a post-LotR source, Tolkien derives hlas "ear" (dual hlaru) from a stem SLAS(PE17:62). Initial hl- rather than l- reflects the revised form of the stem (LAS becoming SLAS), and in the later version of the phonology, postvocalic -s does not become -r when final. Compare the noun "dream", given as olor in the Etymologies (LOS), but as olos pl. olori in a later source (UT:396)

lass

noun. leaf

lass

leaf

_n. _leaf. >> athelas, las

lass

noun. leaf, leaf; [G.] petal

The basic Sindarin word for “leaf”, derived from the root √LAS (PE17/62, 153; PE22/166). It appeared as both lass and las, but I believe the latter is the suffixal form, the result of the Sindarin sound change whereby final ss shortened in polysyllables (LotR/1115). Its plural form was lais, which is of interest because normally consonant clusters prevent i-intrusion]]; compare nern and resg the plurals of narn and rasg. I am of the opinion that the ss was a particular “weak” cluster and allowed intrusion anyway; see the entry on Sindarin plural nouns for further discussion.

Conceptual Development: G. lass “a leaf” appeared all the way back in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, but there Tolkien said it was sometimes used for “petal” = G. tethlas (GL/52). In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s it became ᴱN. lhas “leaf” (PE13/148) and N. lhass “leaf” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶lassē under the root ᴹ√LAS (Ety/LAS¹). These 1920s-30s forms were due to the Noldorin sound change whereby initial l was unvoiced to lh. Tolkien abandoned this sound change in Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s, so that lass “leaf” was restored.

Cognates

• Nan. las “leaf”
• Q. lassë “leaf, leaf; [ᴱQ.] petal” ✧ Let/282; PE17/062

Derivations

• ✶lassē “leaf”
  • √LAS “leaf” ✧ PE17/153; VT39/09

Element in

• S. athelas “kingsfoil, a healing herb” ✧ PE17/049; PE22/166
• S. Eryn Lasgalen “Greenwood the Great, (lit.) Wood of Greenleaves”
• S. Finglas “Leaflock” ✧ RC/760
• S. Iorlas
• S. lais geledhion “leaves of trees” ✧ PE17/097
• S. Lasgalen “Green of Leaf”
• S. Mithrellas
• S. Nellas “?Three-leaf”
• ᴺS. parlas “parchment, document”
• ᴺS. suithlas “tea, *(lit.) drink of leaf”
• ᴺS. yllas “tea, *(lit.) drink of leaf”
• ᴺS. tuilas “petal, (lit.) bud-leaf”

Variations

• las(s) ✧ Let/282; RC/760
• las ✧ PE17/062; PE22/166

las

leaf

pl1. lais** **_ n. _leaf. Only applied to certain kinds of leaves, esp. those of trees, and would not e.g. be used of leaf of hyacinth. It is thus possibly related to LAS 'listen', and S-LAS stem of Elvish words for 'ear'. Q. lasse, pl1. lassi.

las

noun. leaf

lhaw

noun. ears (referring to one person's pair of ears only)

lheweg

noun. ear

The Sindarin word for “ear” was derived from primitive √S-LAS, an elaboration of √LAS “listen” (PE17/62). Its singular form lheweg is somewhat unusual. Based on its Quenya cognate Q. hlas (< ✶slas), its historical singular should probably be ✱lhâ. However, it seems the modern Sindarin form was actually based on the (fossilized) dual lhaw < ✶slasū, from which a singular form lheweg “ear” was derived using the singular suffix -eg, though it isn’t clear why the base vowel also changed from a to e.

Conceptual Development: Tolkien described a similar scenario in The Etymologies of the 1930s, except the singular was N. {lhaweg >>} lhewig and it was derived directly from ᴹ√LAS “listen” (Ety/LAS²; EtyAC/LAS²). The voiceless lh- in this word was the result of the Noldorin sound-change of the 1930s whereby ancient initial r-, l- were unvoiced. This Noldorin dual lhaw made it into Lord of the Rings drafts as part of Amon Lhaw “Hill of Hearing, (lit.) of Ears” (TI/364), a form that Tolkien retained in the published version (LotR/393). Since the unvoicing of initial l was no longer a feature of Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s, Tolkien needed to contrive a new derivation from primitive √S-LAS.

The Gnomish word for “ear” from the 1910s had a completely different basis: it was G. unc “ear, handle (of a jar)” (GL/75), cognate to ᴱQ. unk derived from the root ᴱ√ṆQṆ (QL/98).

Cognates

• Q. hlas “ear” ✧ PE17/062; PE17/062; PE17/077

Derivations

• √SLAS “ear” ✧ PE17/062

Element in

• S. Amon Lhaw “Hill of Hearing, *(lit.) Hill of Ears” ✧ PE17/077
• N. Amon Lhaw

Elements

Word	Gloss
lhaw	“ears (of one person)”
-eg	“diminutive/singular ending”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√S-LAS > lhaw	[slasū] > [slasu] > [l̥asu] > [l̥ahu] > [l̥au]	✧ PE17/062

lass

leaf

lass (pl. #lais). (Letters:282, PM:135).

lass

leaf

(pl. #lais). (Letters:282, PM:135).

lasbelin

leaf-withering

(no distinct pl. form).

golas

collection of leaves

(i ’olas) (foliage), pl. gelais (i ngelais = i ñelais), coll. pl. golassath. Archaic pl. göleis. ”

lhaw

ears

(?i thlaw or ?i law).

lhewig

ear

lhewig (?i thlewig or ?i lewig the lenition product of lh is uncertain). This ia a singular formed from the collective

lhewig

ear

(?i thlewig or ?i lewig – the lenition product of lh is uncertain). This ia a singular formed from the collective

las

noun. leaf

Cognates

• S. lass “leaf, leaf; [G.] petal”
• Q. lassë “leaf, leaf; [ᴱQ.] petal” ✧ Let/382

Derivations

• √LAS “leaf”

Element in

• Nan. Legolas “Greenleaf” ✧ Let/382

Variations

• -las ✧ Let/382

huzun

noun. ear

A noun translated as “ear” and fully declined as an example of a Strong I noun (SD/430).

lassē

noun. leaf

Derivations

• √LAS “leaf” ✧ PE17/153; VT39/09

Derivatives

• Q. lassë “leaf, leaf; [ᴱQ.] petal” ✧ Let/282; PE19/106; PE19/106; VT39/09
• S. lass “leaf, leaf; [G.] petal”

Element in

• ✶lassiē “*leafness”

las

root. leaf

This root was connected to leaves throughout Tolkien’s life. It did not appear directly in the Qenya or Gnomish lexicons of the 1910s, but ✱ᴱ√LASA “leaf” is implied by ᴱQ. lasse and G. lass “leaf” (QL/51; GL/52). ᴹ√LAS appeared directly in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the derivatives ᴹQ. lasse and N. lhass (Ety/LAS¹), and the root √LAS “leaf” was also mentioned in Tolkien’s later writings (PE17/77; VT39/9).

Derivatives

• Nan. las “leaf”
• ✶lassē “leaf” ✧ PE17/153; VT39/09
  • Q. lassë “leaf, leaf; [ᴱQ.] petal” ✧ Let/282; PE19/106; PE19/106; VT39/09
  • S. lass “leaf, leaf; [G.] petal”

Element in

• Nan. Legolas “Greenleaf” ✧ PE17/153

Variations

• las ✧ PE17/077; VT39/09
• LAS ✧ PE17/153

slas

root. ear

Derivatives

• ✶slas “ear”
  • Q. hlas “ear” ✧ PE17/077
• Q. hlar- “to hear”
• Q. hlas “ear” ✧ PE17/062
• ᴺS. lhassa- “to hear”
• ᴺS. lhae- “to hear”
• S. lheweg “ear” ✧ PE17/062

Variations

• S-LAS ✧ PE17/062
• SLAS/S-LAS ✧ PE17/185

slas

noun. ear

Derivations

• √SLAS “ear”

Derivatives

• Q. hlas “ear” ✧ PE17/077

lhass

noun. leaf

lhass

noun. leaf

Cognates

• ᴹQ. lasse “leaf” ✧ Ety/LAS¹

Derivations

• ᴹ✶lassē “leaf” ✧ Ety/LAS¹
  • ᴹ√LAS “*leaf” ✧ Ety/LAS¹

Element in

• N. Ammalas
• N. Finglas “Leaflock”
• N. lhasbelin “leaf-fall, autumn” ✧ Ety/LAS¹
• N. Dantilais “autumn” ✧ PM/135 (Dantilais)
• N. Lhasgalen “Green of Leaf” ✧ Ety/LAS¹
• N. Mindor Uilas “*Isolated Mountain of Ever-leaf”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶lassē > lhass	[lassē] > [lasse] > [lass] > [l̥ass]	✧ Ety/LAS¹

lhaw

noun. ears (referring to one person's pair of ears only)

lhewig

noun. ear

lhewig

noun. ear

Changes

• lhaweg → lhewig ✧ Ety/LAS²

Cognates

• ᴹQ. lár “ear” ✧ Ety/LAS²

Derivations

• ᴹ✶lassē “ear” ✧ Ety/LAS²
  • ᴹ√LAS “listen” ✧ Ety/LAS²

Elements

Word	Gloss
lhaw	“ears (of one person)”
-eg	“diminutive/singular ending”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶lasū > lhaw	[lasū] > [lasu] > [lahu] > [l̥ahu] > [l̥au]	✧ Ety/LAS²

Variations

• lhaweg ✧ EtyAC/LAS² (lhaweg)