Qenya
lia
noun. fine thread, spider filament, fine thread, spider filament; [ᴱQ.] twine, *wire
Cognates
- N. thlê “fine thread, spider filament” ✧ Ety/SLIG
Derivations
Element in
- ᴺQ. lialóra “cordless, wireless”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ✶ligā > lia [sligā] > [l̥igā] > [l̥iɣā] > [l̥iā] > [liā] > [lia] ✧ Ety/SLIG
A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “fine thread, spider filament” and derived from ᴹ✶ligā under the root ᴹ√SLIG having to do with spider words (Ety/SLIG).
Conceptual Development: The word ᴱQ. lia “twine” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√LI+ya “unite many as one” with derivatives having to do with threads and vines (QL/53).
Neo-Quenya: In Tolkien’s later writings, √ungu- became the basis for spider words, but I retain ᴹ√SLIG assuming it has to do with threads and twining to salvage words from the 1910s and 30s. As such I’d use lia for threads and cords that are relatively thin compared to other items of their class, especially those crafted by twining: “fine thread”, a “twine” as a thin cord and by extension things like a “✱wire”.