axo

noun. bone

A word for “bone” appearing in the Markirya poem from the 1960s in its plural form axor (MC/222-223). It might be related (conceptually if not etymologically) to the root √AKAS “neck, ridge” (PE17/92).

Conceptual Development: A similar word ᴱQ. as (ass-) bone dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/33). The locative plural of this noun assari “of bones” appeared in the Oilima Markirya poem written around 1930. The form ᴹQ. astŭ- “bone” appeared in the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s (PE21/27).

Neo-Quenya: While this word could be derived from ✱aksō, I prefer to assume it is derived from ✱ᴺ✶askō with metathesis sk > ks in Quenya. This makes it more etymologically distinct from axë “neck” and also allows a (Neo) Sindarin form ᴺS. asg “bone”, since a Sindarin derivative of ✱aksō would collide with S. ach “neck”.

axo

bone

axo noun "bone"; pl. axor in Markirya

axor ilcalannar

on bones gleaming

The thirty-sixth line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is the plural of axo “bone” followed by the active-participle form of the verb ilca- “gleam” with the allative plural suffix -nnar (“on[to]”), which modifies the entire phrase, as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL/Markirya).

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> axo-r ilca-la-nna-r = “✱bone-(plural) gleam-ing-on-(plural)”

ilca-

verb. gleam (white)

ilca- ("k") vb. "gleam (white)", participle ilcala with pl. allative ending ilcalannar in Markirya (axor ilcalannar "on bones gleaming")