Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Early Quenya

almo

noun. shoulder(s), back

The word ᴱQ. almo or aldamo “back, shoulders” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√ALA “spread”, and the longer form was an element in the name ᴱQ. Aikaldamor “Broad Back” (QL/29). This pair of words (along with deleted {alma}) reappeared in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s, but there they had the gloss “shoulder” (PE16/144).

Neo-Quenya: The early root ᴱ√ALA “spread‽” was the basis for ᴱQ. alda “tree”, which in later writings was derived from ✶galadā. Thus ᴺQ. almo “shoulder” might be retained as a derivative of the later form of the root: √GAL. The sense of the later root was “grow (like plants), flourish” rather than “spread”, so this is a bit of a reach semantically, though not impossible since ✶galadā referred to broad, spreading trees as opposed to ✶ornē for tall trees (NM/349). I would use ᴺQ. almo only for “shoulder”; for “back” I recommend the neologism ᴺQ. catta.

Changes

  • almaalmo ✧ PE16/144

Cognates

  • G. alan “shoulder”
  • G. alm “back (from shoulder to shoulder), shoulders”

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ALA “spread‽” ✧ QL/029

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√ALA² > almo[almō] > [almo]✧ QL/029

Variations

  • aldamo ✧ PE16/144; QL/029
  • alma ✧ PE16/144 (alma)
Early Quenya [PE16/144; QL/029] Group: Eldamo. Published by

aldamo

noun. shoulder(s), back