Calmacil masc. name, *"Light-sword" or possibly (if haplology of *Calmamacil*) "Lamp-sword" (Appendix A). Cf. cálë, cala, calma, macil**.
Quenya
macil
sword
macil
noun. sword, forged sword blade, cutting sword, sword, forged sword blade, cutting sword, [ᴱQ.] broadsword
Cognates
- S. megil “sword, longsword”
Derivations
- √MAK “cut, hew with a sharp edge; kill, slay; forge metal, cut, hew with a sharp edge, [ᴹ√] cleave; sword, fight (with a sword); ️[√] forge metal; kill, slay” ✧ VT39/11; VT41/10
Element in
- Q. andamacil “long sword”
- Q. Calimmacil “*Bright Sword”
- Q. Calmacil “*Sword of Light, Shining Sword”
- Q. Elemmacil “*Star Sword”
- Eq. macilquilta “swordbelt”
- Q. Menelmacil “*Sword of the Sky”
- Q. Mormacil “Black Sword”
- Q. Narmacil “*Fire-sword”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √MAK > makil [makil] ✧ VT39/11 √maka- > makil [makil] ✧ VT41/10 Variations
- makil ✧ VT39/11; VT41/10; VT49/17
Calmacil
light-sword
andamacil
long sword
#andamacil noun "long sword" (anda + macil), attested with the possessive ending -wa (andamacilwa, PE17:147)
andamacil
noun. long sword
Cognates
- S. megil “sword, longsword” ✧ PE17/147
Element in
- Q. arquen andamacilwa “Knight of the Long Sword” ✧ PE17/147
Elements
Word Gloss anda “long, far” macil “sword, forged sword blade, cutting sword, sword, forged sword blade, cutting sword, [ᴱQ.] broadsword”
maca-
to forge metal
maca- ("k")vb. "to forge metal" (which rang at the stokes of hammers). (VT41:10; in this source this is suggested as the origin of the word macil "sword", but mac- above would also seem to be relevant, so Tolkien may have changed his mind about the precise etymology of macil.)
-ya
his
-ya (4) pronominal suffix "his" (and probably also "her, its"), said to be used in "colloquial Quenya" (which had redefined the "correct" ending for this meaning, -rya, to mean "their" because it was associated with the plural ending -r). Hence e.g. cambeya ("k") "his hand", yulmaya "his cup" (VT49:17) instead of formally "correct" forms in -rya. The ending -ya was actually ancient, primitive ¤-jā being used for "all numbers" in the 3rd person, predating elaborated forms like -rya. It is said that -ya "remained in Quenya" in the case of "old nouns with consonantal stems", Tolkien listing tál "foot", cas "head", nér "man", sír "river" and macil "sword" as examples. He refers to "the continued existence of such forms as talya his foot", that could apparently be used even in "correct" Quenya (VT49:17). In PE17:130, the forms talya "his foot" and macilya ("k") "his (or their) sword" are mentioned.
-rya
his, her
-rya 3rd person sg. pronominal ending "his, her" and probably "its" (VT49:16, 38, 48, Nam, RGEO:67), attested in coivierya *"his/her life", máryat "her hands", ómaryo "of her voice" (genitive of *ómarya "her voice"), súmaryassë "in her bosom" (locative of súmarya "her bosom"); for the meaning "his" cf. coarya "his house" (WJ:369). The ending is descended from primitive ¤-sjā via -zya (VT49:17) and therefore connects with the 3rd person ending -s "he, she, it". In colloquial Quenya the ending -rya could be used for "their" rather than "his/her", because it was felt to be related to the plural ending -r,e.g. símaryassen "in their [not his/her] imaginations" (VT49:16, 17). See -ya #4.
-zya
his, her, its
-zya, archaic form of the pronominal ending -rya "his, her, its", q.v. (VT49:17)
yelca
sword
[yelca noun ?"sword" - Tolkien's gloss is not certainly legible, and the word was struck out anyway. (VT45:11)]
orvincë
noun. little apple, pommel
Alternative
Compound word reasoning
Orvincë was chosen instead of orvaincë for aesthetic beauty as well as simplicity of speech. To my knowledge, no Quenya word begins with orvi, thus generating no conflict with the compound word form.
Pommel origin
From Etymonline © 2022 (confirmed by Webster-Mirriam © 2022) mid-13c., pomel, "ornamental knob or ball, decorative boss;" c. 1300, "knob at the end of the handle of a sword hilt or the grip of a dagger," from Old French pomel (12c., Modern French pommeau), "rounded knob," diminutive of pom "hilt of a sword," and directly from Medieval Latin pomellum, diminutive of Latin pomum "apple" (see pomona), the connecting notion being "roundness." It serves to keep the hand from slipping and for striking a heavy blow at an adversary too close for the sweep of the weapon.
Though process
The word pommel is Franco-Latin in origin and refers to the knob at the end of a European style sword as a little apple. It seems appropriate that Quenya, which is flowing like French and is often referred to as "Elf Latin" should also refer to the balancing knob at the end of a sword as a "little apple." English also uses pommel as the primary word for a knob at the end of a sword handle.
ai reduction
From Member Gilruin: "Erkenbard [demonstrated] the reduction ai → i before clusters is supported by alda + inga → aldinga" (VT47:28)
macil ("k")noun "sword" (MAK, LT1:259, VT39:11, VT45:32, VT49:17); macilya "his (or their) sword" (PE17:130), see -ya #4.