anto

giver

anto (2) noun "giver" (masc.) (ANA1)

anto

mouth

anto (1) noun "mouth", also name of tengwa #13 (Appendix E)

anto

noun. mouth, mouth [as a thing for eating]; [ᴱQ.] jaw

The basic Quenya word for “mouth”, appearing as the name of tengwa #13 (4) in The Lord of the Rings Appendix E (LotR/1123). It is likely derived from the root √MAT “eat” from primitive ✱amtō, and hence refers to the mouth as a thing for eating. Quenya has a number of other more specialized words for the mouth, however, such as Q. pé for the closed mouth, Q. ópa for the mouth opening, Q. songa for the interior of the mouth and Q. náva for the entire mouth apparatus (tongue, lips and teeth) used for speech.

Conceptual Development: ᴹQ. anto “mouth” first appeared in notes on The Feanorian Alphabet from the 1940s, where it replaced ᴹQ. anta “jaws” (PE22/50 note #50). In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱQ. anto (antu-) was itself glossed “jaw” and was based on the early root ᴱ√MATA “eat” (QL/31, 59).

Derivations

• √MAT “eat”

Element in

• ᴺQ. antolatta “bridle, (lit.) mouth-strap”

anta

noun. jaw

A noun appearing as ᴹQ. anta “face” in The Etymologies written around 1937 under the root ᴹ√ANA “to, towards” (Ety/ANA¹), based on an extension of this root: ᴹ√ANAT (EtyAC/ANA¹).

Conceptual Development: The earliest appearance of this word was as ᴱQ. anta “jaw” in The Qenya Phonology of the 1910s, where it was derived from ᴱ✶mtā, related to ᴱ√MATA “eat” (PE12/26). It was mentioned again in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon as a cognate to G. ant “cheek” (GL/19), but in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa it was ᴱQ. anto “jaw” (QL/31; PME/31). ᴱQ. anta reappeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s, but there it had the gloss “cheek” and its Gnomish cognate G. ant was “face” (PE13/137, 160). In Early Qenya Word-lists from the 1920s, however, anta retained the gloss “jaw” (PE16/136).

As noted above, in The Etymologies ᴹQ. anta had the gloss “face” and a new derivation from ᴹ√ANA “to, towards” (Ety/ANA¹), perhaps meaning “✱front of the head”. In that document Tolkien introduced ᴹQ. anka for “jaw” based on ᴹ√NAK “bite” (Ety/NAK). In notes on The Feanorian Alphabet from around this time, he revised the gloss of ᴹQ. anta from “jaw” to “face” (PE22/21 note #64), which was followed by a chart that had both anta “face” and anka “jaw” (PE22/22). However, he then wrote “jaw” faintly above anta and marked through the gloss of anka (PE22/22 note #67).

In version of these notes on The Feanorian Alphabet from the 1940s, Tolkien had anta “jaws”, but there it was revised to ᴹQ. anto “mouth” (PE22/50 and note #185). In the version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from around 1950 (TQ2) Tolkien again had Q. anta “jaw” < ✶amtā based on the root √MAT, but he revised the primitive form to ✶ankā and then marked through the entire paragraph (PE18/85 note #72). In the tengwar charts from Appendix E of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien had Q. anca “jaw” and Q. anto “mouth” (LotR/1123).

To summarize, it seems Tolkien revised the meaning of word anta from “jaw” >> “cheek” >> “face” in the 1910s through 1930s; then in the 1940s and 50s he considered restoring anta “jaw” but ultimately settled on Q. anca “jaw” and Q. anto “mouth”.

Neo-Quenya: Given the ultimate result above, I think it is possible that the sense ᴹQ. anta “face” < √ANA “to(wards)” from The Etymologies remains viable, and I would use the word anta with that meaning for purposes of Neo-Quenya. I would also let it retain its ᴱQ. meaning “cheek”, as we have no other Quenya words with this sense.

Changes

• anta → anca “jaw” ✧ LotR/1123

Derivations

• ✶amtā ✧ PE18/085
  • √MAT “eat” ✧ PE18/085; PE18/087

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶amtā > anta	[amtā] > [antā] > [antā]	✧ PE18/085

antë

giver

antë noun "giver" (f.) (ANA1)

asto

dust

asto noun "dust" (ÁS-AT). According to VT45:6, asto was the name of tengwa #13 in the pre-classical system presupposed in the Etymologies, but Tolkien would later change the name of this letter to anto (its Quenya value changing from st to nt).

nangwa

jaw

nangwa noun "jaw" (NAK)

ópa

mouth

ópa noun "mouth", in the sense of mouth-opening with lips as the edges (PE17:126)

carpa

mouth

carpa ("k") (1) noun "mouth", including lips, teeth, tongue etc. (PE17:126); also used for "language", in particular the phonetic system.Cf. náva and páva.

náva

mouth

náva ("ñ")noun "mouth", apparently not only the lips but also the inside of the mouth (VT39:13 cf. 8). Possibly, but probably not, the same element that is translated "hollow" in Návarot, q.v.

páva

mouth

páva noun "mouth" (including tongue, lips and teeth). Apparently changed by Tolkien to náva, q.v. (VT39:19)

páva

noun. mouth

Element in

• Q. pávatengwë “consonant” ✧ VT39/19

songa

mouth

songa noun "mouth", in the sense of "interior cavity behind the teeth, containing tongue" (PE17:126)

anta

noun. jaw, [ᴹQ.] face, *front of the head, [ᴱQ.] cheek; [Q.] jaw

ethir

noun. mouth (of a river), estuary

oneth

noun. giver

carach

noun. jaw, row of teeth

anc

jaw

anc (row of teeth), pl. ainc, coll. pl. angath.

anc

jaw

(row of teeth), pl. ainc, coll. pl. angath.

ast

dust

1) ast (pl. aist if there is a pl.), 2) lith (sand, ash) (Names:178)

ast

dust

(pl. aist if there is a pl.)

naew

jaw

naew; no distinct pl. form;

naew

jaw

; no distinct pl. form;

carach

jaws

(i garach, o charach), pl. ceraich (i cheraich)

lith

dust

(sand, ash) (Names:178)

gobem

noun. mouth

Elements

Word	Gloss
go-	“together, co-, com-”
pemp	“lip”

oneth

giver

(fem.) #oneth pl. *onith. Isolated from the following:

oneth

giver

pl. ✱onith. Isolated from the following:

malu

noun. dust

Changes

• malŭ → smalŭ “dust” ✧ PE21/80

Derivations

• √MAL “gold, yellow, gold”

Variations

• malŭ ✧ PE21/80 (malŭ)

anc

noun. jaw, row of teeth

ast

noun. dust

ast

noun. dust

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “dust” derived from the root ᴹ√ÁS-AT (Ety/ÁS-AT).

Cognates

• ᴹQ. asto “dust” ✧ Ety/ÁS-AT

Derivations

• ᴹ√ASAT “*dust” ✧ Ety/ÁS-AT

Element in

• ᴺS. athren “dusty”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√ÁS-AT > ast	[asto] > [ast]	✧ Ety/ÁS-AT

naew

noun. jaw

naew

noun. jaw

A noun for “jaw” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶nakma (✱“bite-thing”) under the root ᴹ√NAK “bite” (NAK). This word remains phonologically plausible in Sindarin, with ancient k vocalizing to i and the resulting diphthong ai become ae, after which the m became v &gt; w; see VT42/26 for a description of the basic phonetic changes. However, naew might have been displaced conceptually by anc “jaw”, which appeared in a number of later Sindarin names and whose Quenya cognate Q. anca appeared in The Lord of the Rings Appendix E.

Cognates

• ᴹQ. nangwa “jaw” ✧ Ety/NAK

Derivations

• ᴹ✶nakma “jaw” ✧ Ety/NAK
  • ᴹ√NAK “bite” ✧ Ety/NAK

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶nakma > naew	[nakma] > [nagma] > [naŋma] > [naima] > [naim] > [naem] > [naev] > [naew]	✧ Ety/NAK

ethir

noun. mouth (of a river), estuary