huan

noun. hound, hound, [ᴱQ.] dog

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “hound” derived from primitive ᴹ✶khugan under the root ᴹ√KHUG “bark, bay” (Ety/KHUGAN). It was followed a parenthetical form (húnen), likely a genitive, indicating a stem form of hún-. This word served as the basis for the name of the great Valinorian hound Huan.

Conceptual Development: The forms huan and {hwan >>} huan appeared in both the Qenya Lexicon and Qenya Phonology of the 1910s, but in both cases this word was revised to ᴱQ. fan (fand-) “dog” (QL/37; PE12/26). This word was derived from the early root ᴱ√SAẆA < sǝwǝ (QL/82) and primitive forms ᴱ✶swandǝ (PE12/26) or ᴱ✶swǝnd- (QL/82). The vacillation from huan to fan reflects Tolkien’s uncertainty on the development of initial sw- in Early Qenya, either to hw- > hu- or to f- (PE12/26 note #26). The form ᴱQ. huan (huand-) “dog” appeared in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/132). It appeared again in The Etymologies, with a new gloss “hound”, a revised derivation and a new stem form hún- (see above).

Changes

• huan → huan “hound” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN

Cognates

• N. Huan “hound” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN
• N. huan “hound” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN

Derivations

• ᴹ√KHUG “bark, bay” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN
• ᴹ✶khugan “hound” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN
  • ᴹ√KHUG “bark, bay” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√KHUGAN > huan	[kʰugan] > [xugan] > [xuɣan] > [xuan] > [huan]	✧ Ety/KHUGAN
ᴹ✶khugan > huan	[kʰugan] > [xugan] > [xuɣan] > [xuan] > [huan]	✧ Ety/KHUGAN

khugan

noun. hound

Derivations

• ᴹ√KHUG “bark, bay” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN

Derivatives

• ᴹQ. huan “hound, hound, [ᴱQ.] dog” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN
• N. huan “hound” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN

khug

root. bark, bay

This root was the basis for several “dog” words, most notably S. (or Q.) Huan “Hound”, a name Tolkien used throughout his life. Its earliest precursor was the root ᴱ√SAẆA from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, which had the derivative ᴱQ. fan (fand-) “dog”. In the somewhat earlier Qenya Phonology, Tolkien had ᴱQ. hwan >> huan >> fan, reflecting conceptual shifts in the phonetic development of initial sẉ- in Qenya (PE12/26 note #149). In the contemporaneous Gnomish lexicon the words G. hû “dog” and G. saur “hound, wild dog” seem to be derived from this same root (GL/49, 67). The Early Noldorin word ᴱN. fan(d) “dog” in word lists of the 1920s is probably of similar origin (PE13/143).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien derived N. Huan and a number of other dog-words, first from an (unglossed) extended root ᴹ√KHUGAN, and then from ᴹ√KHUG “bark, bay” (Ety/KHUGAN). In their Reader’s Companion to the Lord of the Rings, Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull said:

> The first element of Huorn could be derived from the base KHUG- “bark, bay”, which appears to be supported by unpublished etymological notes by Tolkien (RC/425).

Hammond and Scull did not further describe these notes so we don’t know whether it actually contained √KHUG, but I think it is likely that these “unpublished notes” refer to the etymology of Huorn on PE17/86, which does not contain √KHUG but does have Q. hú “hound” (the word’s gloss is unclear and might be “heart” according to Christopher Gilson).

Changes

• KHUGAN → KHUG ✧ Ety/KHUGAN

Derivatives

• ᴹ✶khugan “hound” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN
  • ᴹQ. huan “hound, hound, [ᴱQ.] dog” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN
  • N. huan “hound” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN
• Q. hú “hound (or ?heart)”
• ᴹQ. huan “hound, hound, [ᴱQ.] dog” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN
• ᴺQ. húni “bitch, *female dog”
• ᴹQ. huo “dog” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN
• N. hû “dog” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN
• N. Huan “hound” ✧ Ety/KHUGAN
• S. huan “great dog, hound”
• ᴺS. huar “hound, wild dog, wild dog”
• ᴺS. huil “bitch, *female dog”

Element in

• ᴺQ. huar “wild dog, jackal”
• S. huorn “?spirit tree” ✧ RC/425

Variations

• KHUGAN ✧ Ety/KHUGAN (KHUGAN)

hûbi

noun. hound

padhwen

noun. bark

A noun for “bark” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/63), apparently based on the early root ᴱ√PARA [PAÐA?] which might mean “peel” (QL/72).

Derivations

• ᴱ√PARA “*peel”

dâf

noun. bark

gwath

noun. bark