toltëa ordinal "eighth" (VT42:31), also toldëa (VT42:25). See tolto.
Quenya
toldëa
eighth
toldëa
ordinal. eighth
Changes
toltea→ toldea ✧ VT42/25Cognates
Elements
Word Gloss toldo “eight” -ëa “ordinal suffix” Variations
- toldea ✧ VT42/25
- toltea ✧ VT42/31 (
toltea)
toltëa
eighth
toltëa
ordinal. eighth
toldo
cardinal. eight
The Quenya number “eight” derived from the root √TOLOD, probably from primitive ✱✶tolodō, with the middle vowel lost due to the Quenya syncope.
Conceptual Development: The earliest attested Qenya word for “eight” was ᴱQ. umna in the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s (GL/75), but when Tolkien composed the number lists in the Early Qenya Grammar from the 1920s, it was revised to ᴱQ. tolto (PE14/49, 82). In The Etymologies from the 1930s it remained ᴹQ. tolto from the root ᴹ√TOLOT (Ety/TOL¹-OTH/OT).
When Tolkien revisited the Elvish number system in the 1960s, he first used tolto (VT47/32), but he later changed the t to a d in both the Quenya form and the root (VT48/6).
Neo-Quenya: I personally prefer toldo as the Quenya word for “eight”, but some Neo-Quenya writers use the older (and perhaps better known) tolto. It seems Tolkien had considerable trouble deciding on the primitive root for “eight”, so any of these forms could be valid (VT47/31).
Cognates
- S. tolodh “eight” ✧ PE17/095; VT48/06
Derivations
- √TOLOD “eight” ✧ VT47/31
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √TOLOT > tolto [toloto] > [tolto] ✧ VT47/31 Variations
- tol-to ✧ PE17/095
- tolto ✧ VT47/32
tolto
cardinal. eight
tolto cardinal "eight" (TOL1-OTH/OT), variant toldo (VT48:6). Ordinal toltëa "eighth" (VT42:31), with variant toldëa (VT42:25) to go with toldo.
tolto
cardinal. eight
toldëa oridinal "eighth" (VT42:25), also toltëa (VT42:31). See tolto.