olos (1) noun "dream, vision" (olor-, as in pl. olori from earlier olozi) _(UT:396). _Cf. olor and see lár #2.
Quenya
olos
snow, fallen snow
olos
dream, vision
olos
noun. dream, vision
olos
noun. inflorescence, mass of flowers (on one plant), inflorescence, mass of flowers
A word for “inflorescence, mass of flowers (on one plant)” in notes on flowers from the same bundle containing Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) written in 1959, with forms lōs and olos (olōs-) which were both based on √LOTH “flower”, the latter with the prefix o- “together” (PE17/160). There was also a form {lūsse, lōs >>} lōs in notes from around 1967, appearing near lótë “flower, a single blossom” and (deleted) {loste} “blossom (conglomeration of small flowers)” (PE17/26). The intended meaning of lōs in these 1967 notes isn’t clear other than that it was flower-related.
Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. lokte (lokte-) “blossom, flowers in bunches or clusters” under the early root ᴱ√LOHO (QL/55). In the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa it was glossed “flower-cluster” (PME/55) and in the Gnomish Lexicon it was lokse “bunch, cluster” (GL/54).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would mainly used olos (olós-) for “inflorescence, mass of flowers”; compare olass(i)ë “foliage, collection of leaves”. I would use it for any mass of flowers, as opposed olótë “bloom, the flowers collectively of a single plant” from the late 1960s (VT42/18).
Derivations
- ✶ñwa-lōth “inflorescence, mass of flowers (on one plant)” ✧ PE17/160
Elements
Word Gloss o- “together” lós “inflorescence, mass of flowers” Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶ñwa-lōth > olos [ŋwalōtʰ] > [ŋwolōtʰ] > [ŋwolōθ] > [wolōθ] > [olōθ] > [oloθ] > [olos] ✧ PE17/160 Variations
- olos ✧ PE17/160
olossë
snow, fallen snow
†olossë noun "snow, fallen snow" (GOLÓS, LOT[H])
olor
dream
olor noun "dream" (LOS, ÓLOS, LT1:259 [the latter source also gives olórë]); perhaps changed by Tolkien to olos, q.v.
olor
noun. dream, vision
A word for a “dream” or “vision” with variant forms olor and olos, derived from the root √OLO-S “vision, phantasy” (UT/396).
Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where ᴱQ. olor or olōre “dream” appeared under the early root ᴱ√LORO or ᴱ√OLOR, both elaborations of ᴱ√OLO (QL/56, 69). Both noun forms were also mentioned in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/69). The Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s had ᴹQ. olar “dream” (PE21/33), but in The Etymologies written around 1937 this again became ᴹQ. olor “dream” from the root {ᴹ√OLOR >>} ᴹ√OLOS “dream” (Ety/LOS, ÓLOS; EtyAC/ÓLOS).
In one set of late notes in connection to Gandalf’s name Olórin, Tolkien modified its meaning:
> Olor is a word often translated “dream”, but that does not refer to (most) human “dreams”, certainly not the dreams of sleep. To the Eldar it included the vivid contents of their memory, as of their imagination: it referred in fact to clear vision, in the mind, of things not physically present at the body’s situation. But not only to an idea, but to a full clothing of this in particular form and detail (UT/396).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would mainly use the form olor (archaic †olos) with the basic meaning “dream” that this word had for much of Tolkien’s life. I would assume that its derivation from ✱olos was influenced by its plural form olori < olozi and also by the related root √(O)LOR. Given Tolkien’s late note above, however, I think this word can also apply to waking visions, as well as particularly vivid memories or imagined forms.
Derivations
- √OLOS “dream, vision, fantasy, dream, vision, fantasy; [ᴹ√] sleep” ✧ UT/396
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √olo-s > olos [olos] ✧ UT/396 √olo-s > olozi > olori [olosi] > [olozi] > [olori] ✧ UT/396 Variations
- Olor ✧ UT/396
- olos ✧ UT/396
lossë
snow
lossë (1) noun "snow" or adj. "snow-white" (SA:los, MC:213, VT42:18); losselië noun"white people" (MC:216, PE16:96)
Olórin
olórin
Olórin noun name of the Maia that became Gandalf, connected to olos no. 1 (UT:396)
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
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
ambos
breast
ambos (ambost-) noun "breast" (chest). PE16:82
lórë
noun. dream, [ᴹQ.] slumber, *sleep; [Q.] dream
A word for “dream” in Tolkien’s later writings, most notably as an element in Lórien “✱Dream Lands” (Let/308; PE17/80). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, however, ᴹQ. lóre was glossed “slumber” under the root {ᴹ√LOR >>} ᴹ√LOS “sleep” (Ety/LOS).
Neo-Quenya: I generally use √LOR for “sleep” and √OLOS for “dream” for purposes of Neo-Eldarin. As such, I would use lóre for both “slumber, ✱sleep” and “dream” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, likely a blending of primitive ✱lōre and ✱lōse. But I would use it more for a “(dreamful) sleep”, with olor as the proper word for “dream” or “vision”.
Cognates
- ᴺS. lûr “sleep, slumber”
Derivations
- √(O)LOR “dream, vision, [ᴹ√] sleep, [ᴱ√] doze, slumber; [√] dream, vision”
Element in
- ᴺQ. cuilórë “day-dream, (lit.) awake-dream”
- Q. Lindelorendor “Singing-dream-land” ✧ Let/308; PE17/080
- Q. Lórellin “*Dream Pool”
- ᴺQ. lórelot “poppy, *(lit.) flower of sleep”
- Q. Lórien “*Dream Lands”
Variations
- lóre ✧ PE17/080
cas
head
cas ("k")"head" (VT49:17), cf. also deleted [cas] ("k")noun "top, summit" (VT45:19). This noun should evidently have the stem-form car-. See cár.
cas
noun. head, head, [ᴱQ.] top, summit
This is the Quenya word for “head”, with a stem form of car- because medial s generally became z and then r, but the s was preserved when final. This word can refer to the head of people and animals, as well as the metaphorical “head” (or top) of other things, in much the same way that Q. tál “foot” can refer to their base.
Conceptual Development: This word was established very early in Tolkien’s writing, being derived from the root ᴱ√KASA “head” all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/45), but its exact form varied as Tolkien changed his mind on the phonetic development of s in Quenya. Its form in the Qenya Lexicon was in fact ᴱQ. kar (kas-), since in Early Qenya period medial s survived and it was final s that became r (PE12/26). This kar (kas-) was the usual word for head in the 1910s and 20s, but in the typescript version of the Early Qenya Grammar Tolkien instead revised it to ᴱQ. kas (kast-) “head” (PE14/72 and note #5).
In noun declensions from the late 1920s and early 1930s, Tolkien instead had cas (car-), reflecting a conceptual shift in the phonologic development of s (PE13/112-113; PE21/22). However, for reasons unclear, the form ᴹQ. kár (kas-) was restored in The Etymologies written around 1937 under the root ᴹ√KAS “head” (Ety/KEM), despite s > z > r being the normal medial phonetic development in this period (PE19/33). This abnormal form slipped into The Lord of the Rings itself as part of the name Q. Eldacar “Elfhelm” (LotR/1038).
Tolkien generally used the form cas for “head” in his later writings (PE19/103; VT49/17), but in his notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien was forced to contrive another explanation for Eldacar:
> What is -kar in names. How could it stand for helm? E.g. as stem ✱kāsā (√KAS, head) would give kāra, but in compound forms -kāsă > -kas. Would not an ă be lost before voicing of s or at least before z > r (PE17/114).
In this note Tolkien considered having Q. carma “helm” < kas-mā, but discarded the idea since he felt karma “tool or weapon” < KAR “do, make” + mā was the more likely meaning. He then said “Eldă|kāzā in compounds to -kār(ă) > -kar” despite its phonological implausibility, and indeed kāza/kára appeared in a discussion of helms within 1964 notes on Dalath Dirnen (DD: PE17/188).
As for the sense “top”, there is better evidence for it among Tolkien’s earlier writings, such as the glosses “head, top” in Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/79) and the early-1930s allative form kasta “up (to the top)” (PE21/22). I see no reason to assume this alternate meaning did not survive in Tolkien’s later conception of the language.
Derivations
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶kāza > kára [kāsa] > [kāza] > [kāra] ✧ PE17/188 Variations
- kára ✧ PE17/188
- kas ✧ PE19/103; VT49/17
fáwë
snow
fáwë vb. "snow" (GL:35; rather lossë in Tolkien's later Quenya)
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)
niquë
snow
niquë (2) ("q")noun "snow" (NIK-W)
fúmë
sleep
fúmë noun "sleep" (LT1:253). Read perhaps *húmë in a LotR-compatible form of Quenya, since Tolkien later decided that fu- tended to become hu-.
indis
wife
indis noun, translated "wife" in UT:8, but the form is assigned the meaning "bride" in other places (the regular translation of "wife" is rather veri or vessë). Indis "Bride", name of the goddess Nessa. (NDIS-SĒ /SĀ (NETH, NI1, NDER, I) ); Indis Nessa *"Bride Nessa", title and name of the Valië (NETH) The stem-form of indis "bride" is somewhat obscure; according to VT45:37 the stem could be indiss- (pl. indissi given), but the alternative form pl. form inderi shows a curious shift from i to e as well as the more regular change from s (via z) to r between vowels (compare the pl. of olos, q.v.) The stem indiss- may be preferred by writers.
indis
noun. wife, [ᴹQ.] bride; [Q.] wife
A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “bride” derived from the root ᴹ√NDIS (EtyAC/NDIS). It was translate “wife” in the later phrase Q. Indis i·Ciryamo “The Mariner’s Wife” (UT/8), but I think this is a loose translation and “bride” is more accurate. In The Etymologies Tolkien gave two plural forms: inderi (which might be indesi) and indissi, the latter influenced by the plural ᴹQ. nissi for “women” (EtyAC/NDIS). I’d use the stem form indiss- for this word, to avoid awkward changes of the final consonant from s to r in inflected forms.
Derivations
Element in
- Q. Erendis “?Lonely Bride”
- Q. Indis “Great Woman”
- Q. Indis i·Ciryamo “The Mariner’s Wife” ✧ UT/008
Variations
- Indis ✧ UT/008
vessë
wife
vessë noun "wife" (BES). A later source gives the word for "wife" as veri.
ambar
breast
ambar (3) noun ""breast" (chest), with stem in -s- or -r- (QL:30). The form ambar, translated "in bosom", occurs in MC:213 (this is "Qenya"). Note: if this word were to be adapted to LotR-style Quenya, we should probably have to read *ambas with stem ambar-; compare olos, olor- "dream" from a late source. However, the form ambos (q.v.) is less ambiguous and may be preferred.
maur
dream, vision
maur noun "dream, vision" (LT1:261)
cár
head
cár (cas-) ("k")noun "head" (KAS).The given stem-form appears doubtful within the phonological framework of LotR-style Quenya. Probably we should read cas with stem car- (PE14:69 indeed reads "kas head, pl. kari", and VT49:17 quotes the sg. "kas" from a post-LotR source). Compare other forms found in late sources: hlas "ear" with stem hlar- (PE17:62) and olos "dream", pl. olori (UT:396). In Tolkiens early "Qenya", post-vocalic -s became -r at the end of words but was preserved when another vowel followed. His later scheme either lets -r appear in both positions, or reverses the scenario altogether (hence olos, olor-). It would seem that the forms cár, cas- were distractedly carried over into the Etymologies from the Qenya Lexicon (kar, kas-, QL:45) even though they presuppose an earlier version of the phonology. An apparent variant form in late material, cára from earlier cáza ("k"), however fits the later phonology since intervocalic s would become z > r (PE17:188).
cára
noun. head
veri
wife
veri noun "wife" (VT49:45)
veri
noun. wife
The most common word for “wife” in Quenya (VT49/45).
Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s appearing as ᴱQ. veri “wife” under the early root ᴱ√VEŘE [VEÐE] (QL/101), but there it was marked archaic (†). It also had a number of competing forms: archaic ᴱQ. †veruni and ᴱQ. †vesse alongside only one non-archaic form ᴱQ. vestin. One of these forms, ᴹQ. vesse, reappeared for “wife” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√BES “wed” (Ety/BES). Later veri “wife” was restored, but derived from a new root √BER for marriage words (VT49/45).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer to retain the 1930s root ᴹ√BES for marriage words in order to preserve Noldorin/Sindarin forms, but I would still use the veri for “wife”, just conceived of as a derivative of the root √BES, coming from ✱besī with intervocalic s > z > r.
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶verī > veri [berī] > [βerī] > [βeri] > [veri] ✧ VT49/45
†olos (2) noun "snow, fallen snow" (prob. oloss-, cf. the longer form olossë below; this form should be preferred since olos also = "dream, vision") (GOLOS)