carach

noun. jaws, rows of teeth

A noun for “jaws, rows of teeth” (RC/607) appearing as an element in the name Carach Angren “Iron Jaws” (LotR/920), likely derived from the root √KARAK and probably a cognate to Q. caraxë.

Conceptual Development: N. Carach Angren was already translated “Jaws of Iron” when it first appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (SD/33).

The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. -charaes as the equivalent of ᴹQ. karakse in Helcharaes under the root ᴹ√KARAK “sharp fang, spike, tooth” (Ety/KARAK). However, that may reflect differing phonetic developments between Sindarin and Noldorin, with Noldorin *-akse* > *-ais(e)* > *-aes* but Sindarin *-akse* > *-ach*; compare S. ach “neck” < aks[e] (PE17/92).

carach

noun. jaw, row of teeth

carach angren

place name. Isenmouthe, (lit.) Iron Jaws

Sindarin name of the Isenmouth, translated “Iron Jaws” (LotR/920) or “Iron Mouth” (RC/772, PE17/101). This name is a combination of carach “jaws” and angren “iron” (SA/carak).

Conceptual Development: This name was already N. Carach Angren when it first appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (SD/33).

Carach Angren

noun. iron fang

carach (“spike, tooth or rock”) + angren (“iron”)

Carach Angren

a ravine leading into Udûn

_topon. _a ravine leading into Udûn. O.E. Isenmouthe. >> dol, doll

carach

jaws

(set of jaws) carach (i garach, o charach), pl. ceraich (i cheraich)

carach

jaws

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

Carach Angren

Carach Angren

Both Carach Angren and Isenmouthe mean "Iron-mouth": "It was so called because of the great fence of pointed iron posts that closed the gap leading into Udûn, like teeth in jaws." Isen is an old English variant form of iron; and mouthe represents Old English mūða < mūð "opening, mouth" especially used of the mouths of rivers, but also applied to other openings. Despite the Old English, the name is not to be understood as Rohirric, but rather as archaic Westron, translation of Sindarin Carach Angren.

anc

jaw

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

naew

jaw

naew; no distinct pl. form;

anc

jaw

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

naew

jaw

; no distinct pl. form;

carach

noun. jaws

carach angren

place name. Jaws of Iron

corch

noun. crow

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “crow” derived from the root ᴹ√KORKA of the same meaning, replacing rejected N. carach derived from ᴹ√KARKA (Ety/KARKA).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. crunc “crow”, probably related to G. crug “beak” (GL/27) and possibly also to ᴱQ. karon “crow” from the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon (QL/45). The forms crunc and crwnc “crow” appeared in Gnomish Lexicon Slips modifying that document (PE13/111), and ᴱN. crunc “crow” appeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/141). The word ᴱN. corch also appeared in the same Early Noldorin Word-lists, but was unglossed, so it is not clear whether it was connected to 1930s N. corch “crow”.

anc

noun. jaw, row of teeth

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* > *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.

anca

noun. jaws

jaws, (animal's) mouth

anca

jaws, row of teeth

anca noun "jaws, row of teeth" _(ÁNAK [there spelt anca in Etym as printed in LR, but according to VT45:5, Tolkien's own spelling in the Etym manuscript was anka], NAK [there spelt anka], Appendix E, SA - despite what Christopher Tolkien says in the entry _anca in SA, the Quenya word anca_ as such does NOT appear in the Sindarin dragon-name Ancalagon, but its Sindarin cognate anc does. See ÁNAK in the Etymologies.) Also name of tengwa #15 (Appendix E). _Despite its English gloss, anca is a singular word (in Etym the gloss is indeed "jaw", not "jaws").

anca

noun. jaws, jaws; [ᴹQ.] jaw, row of teeth

A noun for “jaws” appearing in The Lord of the Rings Appendix E as the name of tengwa #15 [f] (LotR/1123). ᴹQ. anka was first introduced in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the glosses “jaw, row of teeth” and derived from primitive ᴹ✶ankā under the root ᴹ√(A)NAK “bite” (Ety/ÁNAK, NAK).

Conceptual Development: In tengwar charts and other earlier documents from the 1930s up through the early 1950s, anca was in competition with an earlier word anta “jaw” < ✶amtā (earlier ᴱ✶ṃtā) based on the root √MAT “eat” (PE22/22, 51; PE18/85 note #72), but Tolkien ultimately settled on anca. Another early word that might be a precursor to anca is ᴱQ. kâ, cognate to G. gag “jaw” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/37).

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.

nangwa

jaw

nangwa noun "jaw" (NAK)

anta

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