Quenya 

úpa

dumb

úpa adj. "dumb" (i.e. unable to speak) (PE17:126)

úpa

adjective. dumb [unable to speak]

A word for “dumb” in notes probably dating to the early 1960s derived from ✶ūopa (PE17/126), a combination ōpa “mouth (as a speaking apparatus)” with the negative prefix ū-, so perhaps originally meaning something like “✱without a working mouth”. Note that this word means “dumb” only as in “unable to speak”, not as in “stupid”.

Derivations

  • ūopa “dumb” ✧ PE17/126
    • OP “(opening of) mouth” ✧ PE17/126

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
ú-“no, not, un-, in-; hard, difficult, bad, uneasy; hardly, with difficulty, ‘badly’”
ópa“mouth (opening of which the lips are the edges)”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ūopa > ūpa[ūopa] > [ūpa]✧ PE17/126

Variations

  • ūpa ✧ PE17/126